Mystery Potion
by Shadow Oblivion
Summary: Zexion decides that he wants to target all of the organization members for revenge, not just a few of them, but finds that things don't always turn out the way he thinks they should.
1. Potions

Yeah, another story. This is shorter than the other ones though (I've been playing Kingdom Hearts II too much-I need to take a break, and also update other stories). I rated it T, just because it's really random and has some guys hugging other guys (_nothing else_- this is **not** intended to be yaoi- the characters don't do anything bad). This idea just popped into my head and it amused me, so I decided to type it up. Anyway, here it is:

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts (2).

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Axel walked down a narrow corridor. Why was everything so quiet?

"Nooooooooo!" A loud cry rang forth.

Axel halted, wondering where the cry had come from.

"Aaarrrrrgggghhhh! Noooooo!" Came the cry again.

Axel laughed nervously as he created a portal and stepped through it. He re-emerged into a room, and saw Vexen pacing nearby. "Hey Vex! What's up?"

Vexen stopped pacing and walked over to Axel, peering at him intently.

Axel leaned away. "W...what?"

Vexen let out a sigh of relief. "Oh good, you're normal..."

"What do you mean?" Axel asked.

Vexen looked around warily. "Zexion stole a potion from one of my labs...he spiked some drinks, so if anyone were to drink one of the contaminated beverages, they would start to act...strange..."

Axel was silent for a moment as he absorbed the information, then began to grin. "Sure Vexen, if you say so."

"What?! You don't beleive me?" Vexen asked in exasperation. Before Axel could reply, a voice, Roxas', spoke.

"Axel!" Roxas called out in a sing-song voice, swaying slightly as he moved. Roxas looked at Vexen. "Go away old man."

"What?!" Vexen exclaimed, looking offended.

Roxas waved a hand at Vexen. "Go away."

Axel watched as Vexen stared at a nearby wall gloomily, muttering. "Why don't I get any respect?" Axel turned his attention back to Roxas. "You okay Roxas?" He asked the swaying boy.

Roxas giggled as he approached Axel. "Yeah, m'all right." He stared at Axel for a moment, looking feverish, then suddenly wrapped his arms around Axel's waist tightly. "I love you Axy!"

Axel stared in open-mouthed disbelief. What the hell was Roxas doing? "Get off!" Axel snarled, trying to pry Roxas away from him.

Roxas held on tight and refused to let go. "No!"

"Vexen! Get him away from me!" Axel called out.

"No respect..." Vexen muttered as he sulked by the wall.

Axel sighed, then set about trying to get Roxas to let go of him, when another voice sang out.

"Ax-el!"

Axel looked over at Vexen again, and saw Demyx standing there. Axel paled as Demyx staggered over to him with a silly grin plastered on his face. _'Oh no...' _ Axel thought in horror. What kind of potion had Zexion fooled around with this time?

Demyx stopped when he noticed that Roxas was higging Axel. "Roxas! Get away from Axel! He's mine!"

"W...what?!" Axel exclaimed.

Xemnas entered the room at that moment, and saw Roxas and Demyx clinging to Axel. "?" He let out a gasp as someone grabbed him from behind.

"Xemmy!" Saix sang, laughing as he hugged a distraught Xemnas.

Xemnas glared at Vexen. "What did you do to them?!"

"It was Zexion." Vexen answered. _'No respect, not even from him...'_ He thought gloomily.

"Get the hell away from me!" Marluxia yelled, entering the room and slamming the door. Frustrated sighs could be heard outside the door. Marluxia stared at Axel as he tried to get away from Demyx and Roxas. Axel managed to get Demyx off, who went over to Marluxia and promptly latched onto one of his arms.

"What the? Get _off_ of me Demyx!" Marluxia snapped, trying to free his arm from Demyx's death grip on it.

Demyx held on, looking like he was on the verge of tears. "Why doesn't anyone love me and want me?" He asked sadly, looking up at Maluxia with puppy dog eyes.

Marluxia stared at Demyx as though he were insane. "Get off...or else..."

Demyx burst into tears as Marluxia broke free of his grasp. "Nooooo! Don't leave me too!"

Saix was still hugging Xemnas, and was now murmuring things to him, making Xemnas look a little more than uncomfortable.

Axel was still struggling to get Roxas off, and finally succeeded.

Roxas was on the ground, staring mournfully up at Axel. He pouted. "Don't you love me?"

Axel backed away _very_ far, until he stood next to Marluxia, who was eyeing the crying Demyx distastainfully, as though he had something contagious. Both Axel and Marluxia looked to one side as another door opened.

Zexion came into the room, smirking at Saix, who was trying to drag a terrified Xemnas into another room. Zexion caught sight of Axel and Marluxia. "Are you having fun? I call it payback for all the pranks you've all pulled on me." Zexion watched as Axel and Marluxia spoke in low tones. He gulped when he saw weapons appear in their hands.

Marluxia swung his scythe. "You've been a bad boy Zexion. You need to be punished now."

Axel took a step forward. "I get him first."

"Whoever catches him gets him first." Marluxia replied.

"Fair enough." Axel answered, grinning.

Zexion fled the room, as an angry Axel and Marluxia chased him.

This left Xemnas alone with Saix, who was now trying to force him into a room with his claymore. Demyx and Roxas had latched onto either of Xemnas' legs, sobbing broken heartedly about how Axel had left them.

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The next day...

Vexen relaxed in a chair in the castle courtyard. It seemed like everyone had recovered fom the potion, since none of them seemed to remember what had happened, except for the people they had bothered. Vexen saw Saix pursuing Xemnas around, asking why he was avoiding him. Vexen turned his attention to Axel, Demyx and Roxas, frowning suddenly. Roxas and Demyx seemed to be having the hardest time recovering from the potion. They kept relapsing.

Axel stared up at the sky, feeling somewhat sorry for Zexion. He was still probably being tortured by Marluxia. Axel noticed that Demyx and Roxas were approaching him. "What is it?" He asked them.

Roxas and Denyx merely stared at Axel.

Axel gasped out as Demyx and Roxas grasped either of his arms.

"_Do_ you love me?" Roxas asked, his eyes hopeful.

"No! He doesn't! 'Cause he loves me more!" Demyx replied.

"Let _go_ of me!" Axel said, annoyed.

"No! I'll never let you go!" Roxas cried.

"Shut up! He's mine!" Demyx snapped. He and Roxas glared at each other for a moment, then released Axel and began to fight.

Axel snuck away, relieved. He wondered again what potion Zexion had stolen. Axel created a portal and walked through it, not noticing that Roxas had followed him.

Demyx was on the ground, dazed. He stood up slowly and shook his head, before walking away, looking lost and confused.

Vexen went back into the castle, heading for one of his labs. He passed a room and heard anguished screams coming from within, accompanied by evil laughter. _'Poor Zexion...I **did**_ _tell him not to mess around with_ _any of my potions...' _ Vexen went into his lab, and shut the door, blocking out the screams, as well as a horrified yell from Axel somewhere in the castle, when he discovered that Roxas had followed him into his room, still acting strangely.

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Please review and let me know how this turned out. I won't be able to make changes if people don't tell me anything. So, please review and leave some kind of comment (it can be anything). I'd really appreciate it! I like hearing what people have to say.


	2. The Plan

Thank you for the reviews! I have decided to make this story multi-chaptered too, since the ending of the first chapter did seem like it would be continued. I _had_ been thinking about making a story where Zexion would get back at the other Organization XIII members, but wasn't sure if I should.

Since it seems like people liked the first chapter, I've decided to make this story keep going. I didn't make a seperate story, since this seems to fit in with this story more (I'm going to change the character setting so that it will show up under Zexion).This chapter is mostly Zexion plotting what he will do, and the ending will be where he's starting to carry the plan out. The next chapter should actually be humorous, even though this chapter amused me. I know this chapter is a bit short, but I'll make the next one longer. So, here it is:

Disclaimer: Nope, Kingdom Hearts (2) doesn't belong to me at all.

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Zexion lay in his bed, flinching visably as he turned over to glance at his closed bedroom door. Marluxia had finally released him, and had been warned if he ever did something like that again with potions, that he would receive a more horrible punishment. Zexion had limped and stumbled to his room, where he collapsed onto his bed gratefully.

Zexion was still in bed, trying to ignore his throbbing body. Marluxia could be very evil when he wanted to be. Zexion frowned in anger. He would have to get back at Marluxia somehow, in a way that wouldn't involve him being held at the mercy of the Graceful Assasin for hours on end again. Zexion closed his eyes and groaned softly as someone knocked on his bedroom door.

"Go away..." Zexion mumbled. He really didn't want to be bothered. In all the time that Marluxia had been torturing him, he had remembered all the other pranks pulled on him by the rest of the organization. Sure, some of them had been harmless, some had even made him smile slightly. Zexion scowled. Most of the pranks had been very mean, and he had spent several months fuming after each one. But he never even tried to get back at anyone.

The presistent knocking on the door broke Zexion out of his thoughts, and, with another groan, forced himself out of bed. He limped over to the door, and opened it, coming face to face with Vexen. Zexion sighed wearily. "What do you want? I need more rest..." He held back a pained gasp as Vexen grabbed him and dragged him through a portal. "V...Vexen?" Zexion asked, bewildered.

They emerged into one of Vexen's many labs, and Vexen released Zexion and turned to face him. "I need you to help me with an experiment."

Zexion gave Vexen an annoyed look. "Why can't you get someone else to help you? If you didn't figure it out, Marluxia had been beating me up over that potion I used yesterday..."

Vexen fixed Zexion with a glare. "Well...it's your own fault for stealing one of my potions without permission..."

Zexion created a portal. "Well..._I'm_ going back to my room until I can get around without limping. Find someone else to help you..." Zexion entered the portal, leaving behind a very insulted Vexen. The Chilly Academic muttered furiously to himself about receiving no respect while he started to fiddle around with one of his many experiments in his lab.

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Zexion was back in his room, laying prone on his bed and hoping that his body would recover soon. Since he had laid back down, Zexion decided that he would make more potions and try different things to get back at every single member of Organization XIII, even if some of the members hadn't really done anything horrible to him.

Zexion decided that he would target certain people more than others. Zexion also didn't care if anyone did catch him and punish him. As long as he wasn't destroyed, he'd continue to pull these 'pranks' until he felt that he had gotten enough revenge.

Zexion turned onto his stomach and grinned into his pillow. He'd start planning now what to do, and carry those ideas out. If he came up with more, then he'd carry those out as well. Everyone would regret picking on him soon enough.

For the next two hours, Zexion scribbled on a piece of paper of what he would do and who he would do the prank on. Zexion crossed things out and made many revisions, until he was satisfied with what he saw. Zexion did notice that a few of the members were marked more than once, but he didn't really care. He set aside the pencil, attempted to smooth out the piece of paper, and re read what he had decided upon:

**Revenge for all the pranks they've done to me:**

Axel: _He's going to be involved in most of my pranks, just because he's usually in on any prank pulled on me, no matter how much of a role he plays in it._

Demyx: _Same reason as Axel, except that he's drenched me one too_ _many times with that infernal sitar of his._

Roxas: _Usually manages to avoid being pranked, and also is involved in most of the pranks that I can remember._

Marluxia: _Hasn't exactly done any pranks to me, but he does torture me when he finds a reason, and that last one was horrible. He will pay for all those times...  
_

Vexen: _I don't really have anything against him...but I think a few pranks would do him good...and maybe he won't care if I borrow potions from time to time if he gets tired of being bothered..._

Larxene: _I don't know why I'd even attempt to pull any pranks on her, but I feel that she needs to be taught a lesson...I'll just have to hope that I won't be zapped too badly..._

**_Everyone else may get caught in one of the pranks on the others...but I may think of something else..._**

Zexion read it again and sighed. A slight smile found its way onto his face. It wasn't a very set plan, but it would have to do. Zexion slid out of bed and stowed the piece of paper away in a safe spot that no one would find except for him. Even though he still was sore, he felt better. Zexion exited his room and peered around the quiet hallway.

Zexion allowed himself another smile. Marluxia would be his first victim of his new scheme, and no one would probably look into it too much. They'd just assume that he finally was taking some action to get back at being tortured. Zexion would probably have to leave some time in between each prank after doing a couple of them, so that he wouldn't raise too much suspicion. Zexion hid a pleased smile as he saw Marluxia approaching him from further down the hall. It was payback time...

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Please review and let me know how this chapter went. I appreciate any comments. I'm also more likely to post chapters sooner if:

-I know that people have actually read the story and would like me to continue.  
-The reviews are mostly positive and specifically say that they want more.  
-People let me know how the story went and if there is any need for improvements.  
-Hearing comments about how they felt about the chapter and/or story.

Any one of these and similar types of things help me get motivated and wanting to get more chapters out as soon as I come up with them and type them up.

I'm also just happy to know that people have read a chapter or story, and I'd like people to review with whatever they want to say. Geez...this is taking up a lot of space...sorry about that. Sorry about the cliff hanger as well. I really hate them, and I try to avoid them as much as I can.

Updates will be on my profile as often as I can get them up. Anyway, thanks for reading the story and my rambling author notes ending. They won't be as long next time.


	3. Impersonation

Reviews! Thank you! I came up with this one pretty quickly, since I was alone for a few hours. I'm putting this chapter up sooner than I thought too.

This chapter starts out with Marluxia, to show what he was up to before Zexion sees him in the hallway. This chapter amused me as I wrote it (and while I tried to avoid it, one of the characters ends up kissing another, which seemed kind of awkward, but moved the story along). Anyway, here's the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts (2)...

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Marluxia relaxed in his room, staring around silently at all of his plants. He had just watered them, and they all seemed to be quite happy, except for his man-eating venus fly trap. It didn't seem very happy with just water, because it seemed to want something _more_. Marluxia got up off of his bed, after gently detatching a vine that had been slowly curling around one of his legs. Marluxia spoke softly to all of the plants as he made his way over to the man-eating venus fly trap.

Marluxia stroked the venus fly traps' overly large leaves, while he inspected the disturbingly sharp, teeth-like spikes inside of what appeared to look like a large mouth of the plant.

"What is wrong? Do you need something more than just water?" Marluxia caressed the enourmous venus fly trap, and spoke again as though the plant had given him an answer to his first question. "Perhaps you need someone to play with...while I find something for you to eat." Marluxia pet the plant one more time, smiling as the man-eating venus fly trap seemed to lean into the movement.

Marluxia walked towards his room's exit, murmuring to any plant he saw. The plants inched out of the way to let the Graceful Assassin pass by. Marluxia cast a glance over his shoulder at the man-eating venus fly trap, which seemed to be twitching in irritably. "I'll be back soon..." Marluxia crooned to it as he exited the room, and disappeared down the hallway.

Ten minutes later...

Marluxia headed back for his room, dragging along a confused Vexen. Marluxia had wanted to find Zexion, Axel or Demyx, but when he couldn't find them, he had grabbed an unsuspecting Vexen.

Vexen wasn't sure what was going on, but as soon as Marluxia headed for his room, Vexen attempted to break the vice-like grip Marluxia had on one of his arms. "Marluxia?"

Marluxia merely tightened his grip and increased his pace, opening his bedroom door hastily and shoving Vexen ahead of him towards the waiting man-eating venus fly trap. Marluxia pushed Vexen forward, and Vexen let out a startled cry as he stumbled towards a frightening-looking plant. Marluxia headed for the bedroom door. "Would you be so kind as to keep my plants company Vexen?" The last image Marluxia saw before exiting the room and shutting the door was of Vexen, who was tangled up in vines and being poked at by the curious man-eating venus fly trap.

Marluxia walked down the hall, laughing silently. His mood improved even more when he saw Zexion standing just outside his bedroom. _'There you are Zexion...'_ Marluxia thought, grinning evilly at the Cloaked Schemer.

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Zexion really didn't like how Marluxia was looking at him, but was determined to get him back for all the beatings he had received. Zexion didn't want to let Marluxia know what he was up to, so he kept his expression to puzzled. "What are you doing here Marluxia? I thought you'd be in your room, tending to your plants..."

Marluxia sized Zexion up. Something was up, but he couldn't figure out what. He had expected Zexion to want to stay away from him for awhile. "I've already tended to my plants..." Marluxia paused. "What are _you_ doing out of your room? Aren't you still injured after our little talk from before?" Marluxia asked with an amused smile.

Zexion rubbed one of his arms ruefully. "I was, but I've decided that walking around would probably do me some good. No point in getting stiff... What are you doing now then?"

"Looking for you." Was Marluxia's reply.

Zexion folded his arms. This could be a problem. He hadn't expected to run into Marluxia right away like this. Zexion thought quickly, then allowed a suprised look to cross his face. "Oh! I almost forgot! Larxene was looking for you!" _'Like he'll believe that...'_

Marluxia blinked in suprise. "She is? What does she want?"

Zexion shrugged. "You think she would tell without injuring me?" _'This is good...he's falling for it...'_

A smirk appeared on Marluxia's face at that statement. "Where is she?"

"In the kitchen." Zexion answered. He watched Marluxia walk off, seeming to forget that he could just use a portal. Zexion smiled faintly. He created a portal, and after making hinself to appear like Larxene, stepped through it.

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Marluxia finally entered the kitchen, and saw Larxene (a disguised Zexion) leaning against one of the counters. "You wanted to see me?"

Larxene (Zexion) walked over to Marluxia and leaned against him, arms going around the neck of a now very flustered Marluxia.

"L...Larxene?" Marluxia asked. He quieted when a kunai pressed against his chest.

Larxene (Zexion) leaned closer, until the twos' eyes met each other. "I just wanted...to do this." Larxene (Zexion) kissed Marluxia for what seemed like forever, before pulling back to reveal a shocked and breathless Marluxia. Larxene (Zexion) gave Marluxia a sly smile, and, twirling a kunai, created a portal and went through it.

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Zexion changed back from Larxene, and rushed to his room to wash out his mouth as much as he possibly could. That wasn't exactly what he had in mind for getting back at Marluxia. Zexion paused mid-wash. At least if Marluxia ever tried to kiss the _real_ Larxene, she'd probably give Marluxia a more horrible punishment then he could. That actually sounded interesting.

Zexion exited his room after a couple minutes of carefully cleaning out his mouth. Zexion passed by Marluxia's room, pausing when he heard some strange noises coming from within. "?" Intrigued, Zexion opened the door, and spotted what was going on.

Vexen was tangled up in vines, and was slowly being chocked by the man-eating venus fly trap, which seemed to be salivating. Vexen spotted Zexion and gave him a pleading look.

Zexion sighed and shook his head. He left the room momentarily and came back looking like Marluxia. Zexion, after getting the very large plant to release its strangling death grip on Vexen, assisted the older organization member out of the room. Zexion changed back from looking like Marluxia, and quickly shut the door before the plants realized what had happened.

Zexion waited for Vexen to regain his breath and relax somewhat. _'Maybe I'll wait awhile before doing something to_ _Vexen...Marluxia's plants are as evil as him.' _Zexion thought.

"Th...thanks Zexion..." Vexen gasped out. Both he and Zexion froze at a furious shriek and a horrified yell.

Zexion smiled faintly as he created a portal. "I know something that might make you feel better." Zexion entered the portal, followed closely by Vexen.

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Several hours later...

Vexen relaxed in a chair that was next to Zexion's. They were in a large, open meeting room. Vexen grinned at the Cloaked Schemer. "You're right Zexion. This _does_ make me feel better."

"Me too." Zexion replied.

Marluxia was bound and hanging from the ceiling, pleading hoarsely with Larxene, who was enjoying torturing him with her kunai and electricity.

This had gone on for hours, and Larxene had finally become bored. She turned and walked off. "Next time, don't try and kiss me without any kind of explanation." Larxene threw a kunai backwards when she heard Marluxia about to argue. "Don't keep trying to tell me that I kissed you a few hours ago, because I didn't." Larxene exited the room, and the kunai she had thrown moments before gave an electrical surge and broke through the rope hanging from the ceiling.

Marluxia dropped to the ground in a painful heap.

It was at this moment that Zexion got up, prepared to run. He ignored Vexen's curious glance.

Marluxia rolled over with a pained groan, to look at the two who had been watching him. Marluxia furrowed his brows.Why would Larxene kiss him, then not want to be kissed back? Unless...Marluxia glanced up at Zexion, who was giving him an evil smile. Realization struck home, and Marluxia looked shocked, then disgusted. "Zexion...you...didn't..."

Zexion folded his arms and flashed Marluxia a triumphent smile. "Yes, I impersonated Larxene." Zexion stuck out his tounge. "That was quite disgusting, but it was worth it to see Larxene kick you around for a few hours."

Marluxia thrashed around in his bonds, glaring furiously at Zexion. "That's _it_! When I get my hands on you, you'll wish you never existed!"

Zexion took that as his cue to get the hell out of there. He retreated through a portal as Marluxia strained to free himself, yelling out all the horrible things he was going to do as soon as he caught up to the Cloaked Schemer.

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Zexion locked himself in a remote part of the castle, until he deemed it safe to venture out again. Zexion snuck into his room, and put a check mark next to Marluxia's name on the sheet of paper he had hidden. Not that he'd leave Marluxia alone after this. Oh no. If he could find something else to do to Marluxia, he would. Zexion sat on his bed, trying to decide who to target next. This was going to be more enjoyable than he thought.

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Marluxia had managed to free himself, but was too weary to look for Zexion and punish him. Instead, Marluxia went to his room, and sat down near his man-eating venus fly trap, speaking to it softly.

"Don't worry. I will find something for you to eat. I _will_ get Zexion back for this..." Marluxia broke off, before dashing to his bathroom to try and wash his mouth clean. _'You'll pay for this Zexion...' _

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Yay! I typed a longer chapter! Please review and let me know what you thought about this chapter. I do like criticism, as long as it's not too harsh, and it helps me to improve my writing for this story and others.

The next chapter may not be up as soon as this one was, but if I find some inspiration, I'll get it up ASAP. I'm thinking that the next chapter will have Zexion target either Axel, Demyx, or Roxas. If anyone has a preferance, say so in a review. If not, I'll just type up whatever comes to mind first for the next chapter.

Until then, thanks for reading this chapter!


	4. Boxers

Thank you for reviewing! I really appreciate it! It's good motivation. This chapter popped up after seeing a Valentine's day ad on TV...which is kind of weird but oh well. I wasn't sure whether it'd be Demyx or Axel this chapter, but the ad kind of decided for me.

Zexion will be going after Axel, since the ad made me think about him for some reason. I sort of saw Axel as being the one to do what he does in the story, not Demyx.

At first, Axel believes he's just having some fun, before it backfires on him.

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts (2) doesn't belong to me...

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Zexion sorted through some clean landry as quickly as he could. He found what he was looking for, and placed it where he knew it would be spotted without being suspicious. Zexion hid behind a few hampers to wait.

Five minutes passed, and Axel entered the landry room. He grabbed a pile of his clothing, pausing as he noticed the boxers laying innocently nearby. Axel didn't realize that Zexion was watching him, silently screaming. _'Take them! Take them!' _Over and over in his mind. Axel picked up the boxers, smiling to himself. This could provide him with some entertainment. Axel left the room.

Zexion came out from his hiding place, barely restaining himself from shouting out in triumph. He knew whose boxers those were, and knew that that person wouldn't appreciate Axel wearing them. Zexion left the room with a short laugh. The rest of the day would now go as he planned, as long as he could convince a few people to do something for him later.

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Axel grinned at himself in the mirror. He was wearing dark-red boxers with heart-shaped paterns all over it, which he had found in the landry room. Axel decided to bother Xemnas with them to relieve his boredom. In minutes, Axel was skipping along a hall, laughing. He soon entered a large living room-like area, where Larxene, Roxas, Demyx and Marluxia were relaxing.

All four of them stared as Axel struck a pose to show off the heart-patterned boxers.

Larxene went back to her book after casting a slightly amused look over Axel's boxers.

Marluxia raised an eyebrow, not knowing what to make of it, while Demyx and Roxas started laughing.

"W...where did you get those?" Roxas managed to gasp out.

Axel grinned mischeiviously. "I'd tell you...but it's a secret."

"Axel!" Came Xemnas' voice.

Everyone in the room glanced over to see Xemnas standing nearby, looking furious.

Axel ran a hand along the boxers he was wearing and struck another pose. "Like them Xemmy? I found them." Axel studied Xemnas' expression for a moment before laughing. "Are they _yours_? I should have _known_!" Axel ran over to a nearby window and began to grovel on the floor. "Oh...Kingdom Hearts! You have blessed me with these holy heart boxers, yet you haven't given me my heart back. Why? Don't you care about me?" Axel broke down into fake sobs.

Everyone in the room burst into laughter, except for Xemnas.

Roxas managed to call out a warning before laughing again. "Axel...Run!"

Axel stopped his impersonation, and ran as Xemnas pursued him around the room. "Give me back my boxers!"

Saix came into the room at that moment. He spotted the boxers that Axel was wearing. "Are those...?" Saix's calm demeanor suddenly shattered.

Both Axel and Xemnas stopped where they were as Saix summoned his claymore. Xemnas took the chance to look at the boxers more carefully. "Oh, those aren't mine...they're nice though..."

"You and Saix have _heart_ patterned boxers?" Demyx asked.

Axel inched his way along a wall, watching Saix warily. "Oh. These are _your_ boxers...maybe I should go put them back into the landry..." Axel broke off, laughing nervously.

"I want them back_ now_!" Saix roared as he dashed at Axel.

Axel threw himself into a portal he had just created, to avoid being grabbed. Saix followed, disappearing along with the portal.

Silence followed, then Axel suddenly dashed back into the room, fully clothed, grinning from ear to ear. Axel waved the heart patterned boxers in the air in a kind of victory dance, before quickly dropping them to avoid being struck with Saix's claymore.

Saix picked up the boxers and stormed off.

There was silence again, punctured only by occasional giggles from Roxas and Demyx.

Zexion snuck off, having watched the whole thing. Everything would go according to plan it seemed.

Later that night...

Xemnas and Saix were staring out a window at Kingdom Hearts.

"What are you doing?" Zexion's voice asked.

Xemnas and Saix turned to see Zexion walking towards them.

"What do you want?" Xemnas asked.

Zexion shrugged as he glanced out the window. "I thought that you would have punished Axel or something by now, after that boxer incident."

"Are you saying that you have a suggestion?" Xemnas asked, sounding slightly interested.

Zexion looked from the window to Xemnas. "Yes, I do...if you want to hear it..."

Ten minutes later...

Zexion walked along the hallway, smiling slightly. He knew Xemnas would carry through with his suggestion. It would be amusing to see the results.

----

Axel rested comfortably on his bed, content. He wasn't bored anymore.

"Oh Axel..." A voice called softly.

Axel froze, as he slowly glanced to one side. Standing a few feet away were Xemnas and Saix. They leered evilly at him upon noticing his attention. Axel saw something in Xemnas' hands, and his face paled when he realized what it was. "You...wouldn't..."

There was a small fight, which ended with Axel being forced into the garment that Xemnas had brought along.

Axel strained to get away from Saix's grasp. When he knew it was useless, he stopped and looked at Xemnas, who was smiling. "What _is_ this thing?" Axel was referring to what he had been forced into wearing.

"Someone gave me an idea...and besides, if you can run around the castle wearing boxers, this isn't much different when you think about it..." Xemnas answered.

"I'm not going anywhere with this on!" Axel snapped at Xemnas, while silently cursing Saix for holding onto him so tightly. Axel glanced around. What should he do? He couldn't let anyone see him like this! He glanced back at Xemnas. "I...don't suppose there's anything I could do to _not_ have anyone see me like this?" Once seeing Xemnas' expression, Axel quickly tried to get away from Saix again.

Xemnas smiled at Saix. "I don't think there's anything...do you?"

Saix returned Xemnas' smile with an evil smirk. "I can't think of anything..."

Axel really didn't like the direction all of this was going. He _did_ wonder who gave Xemnas and Saix the idea. Axel let out a gasp as Saix pushed him towards a door. "W...What are you doing?!"

"You're going to see everyone...and then maybe you'll think before stealing things that belong to someone else again." Xemnas answered. He opened the door and allowed Saix to practically drag Axel out into the hall.

----

Zexion watched with concealed laughter as Saix and Xamnas forced Axel to see all the other organization members, all of whom laughed upon seeing Axel and his ridiculous outfit. Zexion waited outside his bedroom, knowing that he would be the last person to see Axel, before Xemnas and Saix would put him in a room (as he suggested) with someone else. Zexion kept a straight face as he saw Axel and the others approaching. By the end of the day, Axel would know who had done this to him.

---

Axel saw Zexion standing in the hall, but didn't really care. He would just laugh, like everyone else. Axel was already formulating a plan to get back at Xemnas and Siax, along with whoever gave them the idea.

Zexion stared at Axel fior a few moments, as Axel stared back at him miserably. Maybe he went too far with things...like the outfit... Zexion smiled slightly at Axel. "Where did you get those clothes...if you can call them that..."

Xemnas and Saix snickered.

Axel let out a heavy sigh. "That's everyone...could you leave me alone now?"

"Not yet, there's still one more thing..." Xemnas replied. He and Saix left the area with a weary Axel.

Zexion watched them go, then walked off. Maybe he should have only suggested the clothing part, istead of also locking Axel in the room with someone under the influence of a love potion, courtesy of Vexen. Oh well, there wasn't anything to be done, except hope that Axel would be too tired to pursue him and try to barbeque him after figuring out what was going on.

-----

Axel let out a suprised cry as he was thrown into a room and locked inside. He saw that Roxas was also in the room with a strange expression on his face. Axel scrambled away as Roxas tried to grab him. With his back against the wall, Axel attempted to stay away from Roxas (who was under the influence of a love potion) who was smiling creepily at him now. "What did you do to him?" Axel called out.

"He was given a love potion." Xemnas answered with a laugh.

Zexion was nearby, smothering laughs at Axel's prediciment. Any time now...

Axel climbed some boxes, cursing the 'clothing' Xemans and Saix had forced him into. For some strange reason, this reminded him of something that had happened a few days ago. Axel's eyes widened as he realized something.

Outside the room...

Zexion fled the area after hearing Axel's furious voice. "Zexion! You're dead when I find you!"

Zexion ran along the hallway, laughing his head off. It was just too funny to hold back anymore. Several people gave him concerned looks, but he ignored them as he headed towards Xigbar's room, hoping that he had managed to get some pictures of Axel. There was no _way_ Axel would allow himself to be forced into another outfit.

-----

Minutes later, Zexion was back in his room, hiding a few pictures as he put a checkmark next to Axel's name. He cast his eyes over the paper. _ 'Hmm...who to do next...'_

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So, what did you think? Please review and let me know, along with any other comments. It's anyone's guess as to what Axel was forced into weaing. I think it's funnier not to know, because it's fun to imagine what it could have been.

I think the next chapter will be with Demyx, but I'm not sure. So again, let me know in a review if there's a particular character you'd want to see in the next chapter. It would be easier if I saw a clear majority, otherwise I'll just have to wait and see what I come up with.

Anyway, thanks for reading!


	5. House of Horrors

Thank you for the reviews! They make me feel happy and motivated!

And yes, this chapter is with Demyx...and he will be scared to his wits end! Mwahaha, I am evil...yeah...anyway, the last part of the chapter has Marluxia being targeted, with Demyx unfortunatly near him...poor Demyx...

Disclaimer: Nothing from Kingdom Hearts (2) belongs to me...

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Zexion was resting on a couch, smiling to himself. He couldn't believe how many people he could trick into doing things for him. Zexion opened a book and began to read, taking an occasional sip of tea from a nearby teacup. He could take it easy for the moment, until some of the other organization members began to scare Demyx.

Poor, poor Demyx. He wouldn't soon forget what would happen to him today. All those 'accidents' of getting the Cloaked Schemer wet would backfire.

Zexion closed his eyes for a moment. Any time now...

-----

Demyx yawned wearily as he wandered around the castle halls, trying to wake himself up. As he began to be more and more awake, Demyx wondered why he hadn't seen anyone yet. He'd usually at least see one or two other people. Demyx walked a little further, until he saw something lying on the ground nearby.

Demyx approached slowly, then hurried over when he saw that it was Roxas, who was laying face down. Demyx laughed nervously as he prodded Roxas' still form. "Um...Roxas...you okay?" No response. Demyx turned Roxas over, then reeled back in horror. Roxas had slashes all over him, and he was staring up, eyes unblinking, and seemed to be dead.

Demyx let out a strangled yell. _'I...I touched a dead ...body...!' _ Demyx looked around. What had attacked Roxas? And why hadn't he disappeared? Demyx gulped. Maybe whatever it was stole souls...Demyx froze when he thought he heard low breathing. He ran off, not wanting to be caught by anything. Maybe Vexen would know what was going on.

---

Demyx entered the lab, but ran out almost instantly when he saw numerous lab equipment sticking out of Vexen's chest. _'I hope he didn't_ _create_ _something..._' Demyx thought as he entered the hallway again. All of a sudden, he heard the breathing again...and it was coming from behind him... Demyx turned around slowly, and came face-to-face with an enourmous dragon-like creature.

Demyx stared for a moment, seeming to be frozen in place. Then, he shook his head angrily and summoned his sitar. This _must_ have been the thing that attacked Roxas and Vexen! He would attack it to avenge them. Demyx sent a few waves at the creature, but it didn't seem fazed in the least bit. Demyx laughed nervously and tried again. When it didn't work, he fled the scene, hoping to find someone else to help him.

Behind him, the dragon-like creature was gone. In its place was a soaked and very irritated Zexion. He watched Demyx run off. He shook himself, then headed for his room to change into some dry clothes. Zexion hadn't expected Demyx to attack. Next time he confronted Demyx, he'd be ready. But first, Demyx would suffer some more, and have his mind get very confused.

------

Demyx saw someone walking towards him. It was Roxas! Demyx ran over to him. "Roxas! You're alive! I thought you were dead!"

Roxas gave Demyx a funny look. "Are you all right Demyx?"

"Yes, I am, and so are you." Demyx answered. He gave the boy a confused look. "But how did you survive that thing attacking you?"

"Uh...nothing attacked me Demyx...are you sure you're all right?" Roxas looked concerned now.

"Yeah...I'm fine." Demyx walked away from Roxas, feeling unnerved._ 'Did I imagine things?'_ Demyx entered a room, and stopped in his tracks as something dropped down in front of him. Demyx held back a suprised cry.

Standing there was a cloaked figure like himself, and if Demyx had to guess, he'd have to say it was Axel. But Demyx didn't think it was really him, since there was a mask over the face, which looked like a wolf snarling at him. Demyx jumped slightly as he heard a moan.

"Dem...yx...you can't escape...you will end up like...everyone else...Got it memorized?" The masked figure moaned.

Demyx ran in the opposite direction. _'That dragon thing_ _got Axel too!'_

Zexion was nearby, watching Demyx run. This was turning out well. Too bad it wouldn't last much longer...

----

Demyx entered another room, and let out a gasp as the door slammed shut. Demyx laughed nervously, wondering what would happen. Time passed, and Demyx was slowly getting more and more nervous. Was something going to happen or not?

Zexion watched from above, and allowed more time to pass, waiting for the right time.

Demyx summoned his sitar and began to play to try and calm his nerves. He stopped playing when he heard a thump and breathing. Demyx turned around and came face-to-face with himself. Demyx stared at the other him, which was staring back and making no noise. Suddenly, the figure disappeared, unnerving Demyx further. _'Must be seeing things...'_ Demyx tried to convince himself.

All the lights in the room suddenly went out and Demyx was plunged into total darkness.

Demyx's eyes were able to adjust somewhat, and he noticed that there were a bunch of dolls floating, and they all seemed to be staring at him. Demyx laughed nervously again. Where had _they _come from? Maybe he was dreaming. The dolls began to laugh an evil, sinister laugh, and their heads began to spin, popping off at random intervals.

Demyx let out a horrified cry, and fell backwards, into a portal Zexion had created.

Demyx fell out of the portal and back into one of the castles' many halls. _'W...what was that?' _ Demyx thought, shaking and looking around in fright. He heard breathing again, and turned around to see the dragon-like creature leering at him again. Demyx ran off, not even bothering to try and attack it, since it didn't seem to do anything the last time.

Demyx ran and ran until he ran into the masked figure again.

"Give me...your soul..." It moaned.

Demyx couldn't take it anymore, and with a strangled sob, passed out.

Zexion came over as the figure removed the mask, revealing that it had indeed been Axel. "I see you made him faint." Zexion commented.

Axel looked down at the sitarist. "Maybe if I had said something different..."

"What do you think we should do with him?" Zexion asked, pretending to be an innocent bystander.

Axel shrugged. "Let's just leave him here..."

"It's alive! ALIVE!" A voice suddenly called out loudly. This was followed by maniacal laughter, then silence.

Axel and Zexion exchanged glances, then looked over to see that they were standing outside one of Vexen's labs.

"_What's_ alive?" Axel asked.

"..." Zexion stared at the door. Maybe Vexen had actually created something useful...

"Nooooo! Why did it turn out like this! It _can't_ be right! Why _me_?" Vexen cried mournfully. There were sudden crashes, along with Vexen's furoius raving about how something like this could have happened.

Axel bent down and managed to get Demyx up off the ground. "I think I'll get Demyx out of here...are you going to check on Vexen?"

Zexion nodded. Once Axel was gone with Demyx, Zexion entered the room, appearing calm and unconcerned that Vexen was taking out his rage on varoius things in the room. "What happened?"

Vexen stopped what he was doing when he noticed Zexion. He walked over and grabbed him, dragging him over to a table. "Look at this! Does this look like something evil and horrible to you?"

Zexion freed himself from Vexen's grasp and stared at what was on the table. It was a very expensive looking dress, and it was almost entirely pink. Zexion began to grin evilly. This would be perfect for later...Zexion looked up at Vexen, who seemed to be waiting for him to voice his opinion.

"Well Vexen...it might not seem evil and horrible to you, but it might seem like it to someone else...can I borrow it?" Zexion stated.

"You want it? Whatever for?" Vexen looked confused.

Zexion flashed Vexen a faint smile. "Think about it...who would despise this dress?" Zexion asked.

Vexen thought for a moment, before smiling as well. "Ah, I see...but won't he get mad if you bring it anywhere near him?"

Zexion folded the dress and created a portal. "He won't be aware...and I may get some help..."

Vexen watched Zexion leave, deciding not to tell the Cloaked Schemer that the dress may make the wearer act strangly. _'This_ _should be an interesting experiment...'_ Vexen thought to himself as he exited the lab.

------

Zexion waited until it was night, then had Xigbar and Demyx sneak into Maluxia's room to force him into the dress. Zexion waited outside Marluxia's room, snickering when he thought of what Marluxia would look like.

"Zexion?" Vexen asked.

Zexion glanced to the side to see Vexen approaching him. "What is it?"

Before Vexen could answer, screams issued from the Graceful Assassin's room. Xigbar ran out of the room without a word and teleported from the vicinity.

Vexen and Zexion exchanged glances. What would make Xigbar run off like that?

"What's going on?" Came Xemnas' voice.

Zexion saw that Xemnas, Saix, Larxene and Axel had cme to see what the scream was. "We're not sure...but Demyx is still in the room with..."

"Ahhh! Help me!" Demyx screamed from within the room.

Zexion and the others entered the room to see what was happening. Most of them fell over laughing at the sight.

Zexion smirked. _ 'Got you again Demyx...' _

Demyx was currently being squeezed by Marluxia, who was wearing the very pink dress and giggling.

"Don't try and run away from me!" Marluxia sang.

Demyx gave everyone else in the room a pleading look. 'Help me.' He silently mouthed.

Everyone was too busy laughing to think about helping the poor sitarist.

Xemnas did interfere when Marluxia tried to drag Demyx off into a room, saying how he would be his and no one elses. "Someone grab Marluxia!" Xemnas yelled when he got Demyx away.

Marluxia laughed crazily and avoided being grabbed. He twirled in the dress he was wearing and ran a hand through his hair. "You shall never catch me! Not until I make him mine!" Marluxia gave a creepy smile to Demyx, before escaping through a portal.

Xemnas groaned. Now this was going to be troublesome...

Zexion could barely stop himself from laughing. "W...What did you do to that dress?" He muttered to Vexen.

Before Vexen could speak, he was confronted with an angry Xemnas.

"_What did you do_?" Xemnas demanded.

While Vexen tried to explain, a loud scream rang out, along with some singing.

"Sounds like Marluxia found Roxas..." Larxene choked out, still laughing.

Axel dashed off to go help Roxas, while Zexion slipped away to his room.

Inside his room, Zexion put checkmarks on his piece of paper, while deciding how an enstranged Marluxia in a dress could help him with his next victim...

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So, how did this chapter turn out? Please review and let me know what you thought about it. I'd really appreciate it.

The next chapter will probably be with Roxas, so let me know if that's fine, unless you want it to be somone esle. Marluxia will still be lurking around the castle in that pink dress though...

So, until the next chapter, thanks for reading and/or reviewing!


	6. Man in the Pink Dress

Thank you for the reviews! Haha! Another update (I'm having fun writing these). I wrote this chapter while I was drinking coffee this morning (with sugar and milk- I use _way _ too much sugar...) but that's where the first part of the chapter came from.

Poor Roxas won't even remember what happens...but Axel and Demyx will, since Marluxia is still lurking around somewhere in the castle wearing a pink dress, biding his time...

I'll shut up now, after the disclaimer:

I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts (2), so there.

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Zexion snuck into the kitchen once Xigbar and Xaldin had gotten their coffee and had sat down. Zexion slipped a tiny potion bottle from a pocket, and poured it into Roxas' coffee cup. After doing this, he hid and watched as Roxas stumbled into the kitchen, barely awake.

Roxas ignored a few jibs from Xigbar and a comment from Xaldin as he grabbed his coffee cup and poured coffee into it. He added some milk and sugar to it, grabbed a sea-salt ice cream cone from the freezer, then joined Xigbar and Xaldin at the table. Roxas didn't care whether or not he was supposed to have coffee. He took a sip. It tasted really good.

Behind him, in a dark corner of the kitchen, Zexion was doing a victory dance. He climbed into the rafters above Xigbar, and settled in to wait for the potion to take effect.

-----

Roxas yawned wearily as he alternatly drank from a cup of coffee and licked a sea-salt ice cream cone. He stared across the table he was at with glazed eyes.

Xigbar and Xaldin were opposite of Roxas, and were pointedly ignoring Roxas now as they drank their own coffee. Both of them knew what could happen if Roxas drank too much coffee, but they decided not to interfere.

Xaldin _would_ have liked to throw a lance in the poor boy's direction, but Xigbar insisted that he not. Xaldin cast a quick glance at Roxas. "Are you sure we should leave him? Xemnas will most likely get mad..."

Xigbar drank some more coffee and gave Xaldin a quick wink. "Not if we didn't see him."

Xaldin frowned. "I doubt that we'd be able to avoid him for long..."

There was a slight crash, which caused both Xigbar and Xaldin to glance over to where Roxas had been sitting. No one was there...

Xaldin reached out and grabbed Roxas' coffee cup. He looked inside of it and frowned again. "This doesn't look like coffee..."

"Really? Lemme see." Xigbar plucked the cup out of Xaldin's grasp and sniffed it. Xigbar immedeatly pulled the cup away from himself and wrinkled his nose. "What the hell's in there?"

Xaldin peered inside the cup again, and sniffed it at a safe distance. "I'd say it's some kind of potion."

"Really...?" Xigbar asked, summoning one of his weapons and shooting it above himself.

There was a suprised cry, which was followed by Zexion dropping onto the table. Zexion sat up, rubbing his backside and glaring at Xigbar.

Xigbar dismissed his weapon with a grin, and then grabbed Zexion and pulled him off of the counter and onto the ground. Xigbar quickly seized Zexion by the arms so that he couldn't get away. With his free hand, Xigbar showed Zexion Roxas' coffee cup, sticking it close.

Zexion turned his head to one side, his expression showing that he didn't like the cup so close to his face. "What do you want?" He choked out.

Xigbar grinned at Xaldin, who was now standing next to him and staring at Zexion in silence. Xigbar stuck the cup closer, making Zexion gag. "What's in here Zexy? You can tell, right?"

Zexion would have told Xigbar not to call him that, except that he was trying not to get sick from the smell coming from the coffee cup. "Coff...ee" He gasped out.

"Strike one...what else is there?" Xigbar asked. When Zexion didn't reply, Xigbar grinned again at Xaldin. "Hey! Tickle him with one of your lances."

Xaldin approached Zexion with a faint smile, as Zexion struggled against Xigbar. "N...No! A potion!" Xaldin looked disappointed, and lowered the lance.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" Xigbar asked. He kept his grip on Zexion, who had tried to get away. "Not so fast. Do you know what the potion does?"

Zexion muttered something, which caused Xigbar to drop him in laughter.

"I...It does what?" Xigbar laughed, looking down at a disgruntled Zexion.

"I'm not going to waste my breath saying it to you again." Zexion said cooly, standing up and brushing himself off. He was ignored as Xigbar told Xaldin what the potion did. Zexion left the kitchen in a bad mood, leaving behind Xigbar and Xaldin, who were currently laughing their heads off. Two more people to be added to the list later...

------

Xemnas shuffled along the hall, half awake. He heard laughter in the kitchen, so he avoided it. He wasn't awake enough to deal with _happy_ people. Xemnas halted as he saw a smiling Marluxia in a pink dress and a giggling Roxas dragging a bound Demyx along. _ 'What the?' _Xemnas blinked and shook his head. Was he seeing things? He looked back at the odd group.

Demyx had given up on struggling, and was instead yelling for help to get away from the crazy people.

"Why's everyone up so early?" Came Saix's tired voice. Saix stood next to Xemnas and watched Demyx pleading for help.

Xemnas sighed. "It's too early..."

"Want me to stop them?" Saix asked wearily.

"What's going on?" Axel asked, walking over to stand on Xemnas' other side. Standing next to Saix in the morning was suicide, in his opinion (Xemans didn't seem to notice the danger).

"Oh, Axel...good. Go get Roxas." Xemnas said. "Saix, get Demyx away from Marluxia."

Saix walked forward without a word. Axel didn't seem to want to listen, but then did when he noticed that Roxas was acting strangely.

Marluxia, upon seeing Saix, grabbed the rope from Roxas and pulled a frightened Demyx close. "Back you! Demyx is mine! No one else can have him!"

Demyx was squirming in Marluxia's suprisingly strong grasp. "H...help!"

Axel was running back the way he had come, a giggling Roxas chasing after him. Axel saw that a smiling Zexion was watching from overhead. "Just you wait Zexion! I'll get you!" Axel called up to the Cloaked Schemer.

Zexion turned his attention back to Marluxia and Demyx, wondering how things would turn out. Marluxia was currently trying to kiss Demyx, as Saix and an irritated Xemnas tried to free him. Zexion didn't get to see what happened, because someone hit him from behind over the head.

----------

"I don't think that Zexion was responsible for the dress."

"What about the coffee?"

"He wouldn't have. He just told you what it was, since his sense of smell is good. That doesn't prove he did anything."

"Xemnas! Marluxia got out of the room again!"

"Find Vexen then! See if he knows how to get Marluxia back to normal."

"Right!"

"But Xemnas..."

"I don't believe Zexion is purposely targeting anyone."

"But..."

"Xemnas...?"

"I told you to go get Vexen!"

"..."

Footsteps walking away...

Zexion groaned and opened his eyes. He was slightly disoriented, but sat up anyway. Zexion blinked as he glanced at the two other people in the room.

Xemnas was staring at him, while Axel was glaring at him.

"Where...am I?" Zexion asked. "What happened?"_ 'Play the innocent victim...' _He thought to himself.

Xemnas sighed. "Axel thinks that you were the one who put a potion into Roxas' coffee." In an undertone, Xemnas added. "That he shouldn't have_ had_ in the first place."

Zexion looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Xemnas grabbed Axel to prevent him from leaping onto the other.

"You were smiling when Roxas was chasing me!" Axel said accusingly.

"_I_ just happened to be there...besides, it was..._funny_." Zexion replied in an innocent voice. He then put on a hurt face. "I haven't forgotten what Marluxia did to me..." He broke off, as though it were too painful to remember.

This seemed to satisfy Xemnas. "See Axel? Don't be paranoid. Zexion wouldn't do things like that."

Zexion wanted to dance around the room and laugh loudly. How could they believe that? Zexion guessed that he'd need to leave even more time between each time he did something. He had been very close to being caught this time...

"May I leave then?" Zexion asked politely.

Xemans nodded, then went back to arguing with Axel.

-----

Zexion rested on his bed and added two names to his piece of paper:

Xigbar- **He is going to get it...**

Xaldin- **Must do something about his lances...trying to poke me** **with them...**

Zexion got off of his bed and stowed the paper away, then headed for his bedroom door.

---

Zexion walked along the hall with no particular destination in mind. He paused when he saw Vexen and Xigbar walk by. Xigbar was carrying a strange gun-like object. Zexion followed them, wondering what they were going to do. He caught up with them, and held back suprise when they told him to go get Demyx.

Twenty-five minutes later...

Vexen and Xigbar watched a quiet room below, the silence broken by occasional calls for help from a bound and nervous Demyx in the center of the room.

Xigbar readied the gun and set its sight on Demyx and a bit of the area around him.

"Here he comes..." Vexen muttered.

Zexion, who had been dozing, shook himself awake and looked on in interest.

Marluxia skipped into the room, singing, and smiled happily when he saw the tied up Demyx. "There you are!"

Demyx wasn't happy, and he began to scream in panic as Marluxia approached him.

"Now!" Vexen said.

Xigbar shot out a tranquilizer-like object out of the gun, but Maluxia turned in time to avoid it.

Marluxia looked indignant, and he glared up at Vexen and Marluxia, still wearing the pink dress. "How _dare_ you interrupt my time with my love! You shall_ pay!_" Marluxia summoned his scythe and gave chase to the two retreating figures.

"Get him!" Vexen yelled at Xigbar.

Xigbar shot at Marluxia as he ran, but Marluxia knocked it out of the way with his scythe. "Damn!"

"Don't leave me here all tied up!" Demyx called after them. After a few minutes he managed to get some of the ropes loose. It was a good thing, since Roxas suddenly came into the room and began to chase the sitarist around the room.

Zexion had watched all of this in amusement, and burst into laughter at Roxas' words. Oh, Axel was going to kill him when he found out. Zexion didn't really care though, this was too much fun.

"Demyx! What have you done with my Axel?!"

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And...end chapter! Heh heh. Poor Demyx...anyway, please review and let me know how this chapter went. I'd appreciate any comments. I'm not sure who Zexion will go after next, but I'm thinking either Vexen or Xigbar...

If you want another character, then let me know. Otherwise, it'll be one of the two mentioned above.

So, until next time, thanks for reading (and reviewing) this chapter, and I'll update as soon as I can.


	7. Payback

Thank you for the reviews! I really appreciate it! Heh...wrote this during school, since we weren't really doing anything (even though I_ should_ be working on a project for one of my classes...).

This chapter starts out with Zexion doing something to Xigbar, but it doesn't last for long, now that Axel has decided something needs to be done (yes, they're finally going to strike back). Poor Zexion doesn't get to rest, even at the end of this chapter...

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts (2)

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Xigbar stretched as he glanced around the room he was in. All the targets were in place (a few of them resembled the other organization members). Xigbar grinned as he summoned his weapons and fired rapidly at all of the objects. Xigbar tensed, waiting for the targets to be hit, when the whole room was suddenly plunged into darkness.

"Hope Xemnas didn't find out about those dusks..." Xigbar joked to himself. He looked around. Instead of trying to figure out where the door was, he could just create a portal or teleport out. Before he could decide on a choice of action, Xigbar dropped through the ground (somehow), and landed with a splash. Xigbar came spluttering to the surface. He was outside, and had landed in some kind of lake.

"Would you care for a swim Xigbar?" A calm voice asked.

Xigbar glanced around quickly, before setting his gaze on a tree. "What?"

Zexion was resting in the tree, smiling faintly down at the older organization member. "I said, would you care for a swim?" Zexion repeated, raising a hand and waving it.

Xigbar was going to question Zexion about what he was doing, when something bumped him from behind. Xigbar glanced over his shoulder, and his eye widened in suprise. Xigabr began to swim as fast as he could to avoid being bitten by a furious, swimming heartless.

Zexion watched the scene in faint amusement. This would teach Xigbar not to mess up his room.

The chase lasted for a few minutes, before the heartless began to unleash its furry on the intruding freeshooter. When it was satisfied, the heartless swam off in a huff to patrol its territory.

A beat up Xigbar swam to shore, and dragged himself onto the ground, wincing as he did. Xigbar saw that Zexion was still up in the tree, and was now laughing at what had just transpired. Xigbar, too weary to yell at the Cloaked Schemer, summoned his weapons and shot at Zexion instead.

Zexion dodged the projectiles, and created a portal which he left through.

----

An hour later..

Xigbar limped along the hallway towards Axel's room. Axel had said something about wanting to talk to him, Demyx and Roxas. Xigbar knocked on the bedroom door.

The door was opened by Roxas, who stood to one side to allow Xigbar in.

Xigbar entered the room, closing the door as he did.

Axel was sitting on his bed, looking irritated. He fixed his eyes on the freeshooter. "What do you think about all the things that have been happening in the castle?"

"You mean the misplaced potions and what happened to Marluxia?" Xigbar asked. He didn't want to mention the word 'dress', because it brought horrible thoughts to mind (Marluxia was still at large, since no one seemed to be able to find him, except for poor Demyx, who had been assulted several more times since anyone had last seen the Graceful Assassin).

"Yeah, that." Axel agreed. "I'm pretty positive that Zexion's behind all of it."

"But we don't have any proof." Roxas said from over by the door.

"We have witnesses." Demyx said from where he was sitting on a chair.

"Like who?" Xigbar asked.

"Well, you and Demyx put that dress on Marluxia, right? Didn't Zexion suggest it?" Axel asked. "I also found out that Saix and Xemnas put me in those..._clothes_...which Zexion suggested they could do." Axel smiled triumphently at the three others in the room. "So even though it doesn't seem like Zexion, he's more than likely behind it all."

"I suppose you've already tried telling Xemnas?" Xigbar asked.

Axel nodded. "Yeah, and he doesn't believe me. Says that Zexion wouldn't do things like that."

"So we're going to do something about it." Roxas added.

Xigbar grinned. "So it'll be payback..." He paused, flinching as he sat down on another chair.

"Are you all right?" Demyx asked.

"...I was doing some target practice...then I fell into some water and was attacked by a heartless. Zexion was watching, laughing..." Xigbar explained. He gave a disapproving glare to Roxas, since the boy had been laughing at him.

"S...Sorry Xigbar..." Roxas gasped.

Axel grinned. "See Xigbar? Zexion was behind that."

"So...do you have an idea of how to get back at Zexion?" Xigbar asked, amused now.

Axel got up off his bed and clapped Roxas on the shoulders. "Yep! Roxas and I'll be the bait."

"Why would we need bait?" Demyx asked.

Axel sighed. "...Because Zexion would think its suspicious if all four of us were up to something. If two of us can distract him, then the other two can get him."

"What're we going to do to him?" Roxas asked.

Axel motioned with his hand for the others to come closer. "Come here and I'll tell you..."

---

Later...

Zexion was resting on a couch, reading a book. He hadn't seen Xigbar, but decided that he must have gone to his room or something. Approaching footsteps made him glance up. Standing a few feet away were Axel and Roxas. "What do you want?" Zexion asked.

"Oh, nothing...we were just wondering what you were up to." Axel answered. Roxas nodded in agreement.

Zexion narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "I know you two were in a room with Demyx...and Xigbar...I think...earlier today...where are they now?"

Roxas looked at Axel uncertainly. "We're not sure. We haven't seen them lately..."

Zexion closed the book he had been reading, and stood up. "Trying to distract me?" He asked in a cool voice.

"Think what you like." Axel answered with a shrug.

Zexion cast another suspicious look between the two, before heading for the stairs, thinking that it might be safer in his room for now. He glanced over his shoulder at the innocent faces of Axel and Roxas. "I don't know what you're up to, but whatever it is it won't...umpf!"

A cloak was thrown over Zexion, trapping him inside of it. Zexion thrashed around angrily in the cloak, which now served as a bag. "What's the meaning of this?" He knew what was going on, but wouldn't admit it. He had been tricked!

Someone poked the bag. "What were you saying _Zexy_?"

"_Don't call me that_!" Zexion snapped, kicking at who was poking at him (it had to be Axel). "Let me out, _now_!" Sure they'd let him out...once they found someplace to punish him for what he'd been doing the last few weeks.

"We're going to disipline you." Came Xigbar's voice, along with another poke of the bag.

_'Xigbar must be holding the cloak...'_ Zexion thought in annoyance. He wouldn't be able to get out so easily.

"Don't bother trying to get out. We found this cloak in Vexen's lab. You can't create a portal in it." Roxas informed Zexion.

"_What_?" Zexion exclaimed in horror. What was he supposed to do now?

----

Xemnas was speaking with Saix and Xaldin about a mission they had completed. All three stopped speaking as they witnessed a strange sight.

Demyx and Roxas were walking along, with Xigbar close behind, keeping a tight grip on a cloak that had something moving around inside it. Axel was walking alongside Xigbar, prodding the bag occasionally, all the while grinning evilly.

"Saix...follow them and see what they're doing...don't let things get out of hand." Xemnas told the Luna Diviner.

Saix trailed after the small group in silence.

Xemnas glared at Xaldin, who was trying to sneak off. "_Hold it_! I'm not finished speaking with you!"

----

Zexion held back a gasp as Xigbar dumped him out onto a bed. Zexion glanced around at the four other nobodies glaring at him. _'Now what?'_ Zexion wondered.

Axel dangled some skimpy-looking clothing in front of Zexion. "Payback time Zexy."

Zexion blanched at the sight of the revealing clothing, and tried to escape. He was unsuccessful, and struggled as Demyx and Xigbar forced him into the clothing.

Roxas took several pictures, snickering as he did.

Zexion glared at Axel, thinking of even more horrible things to do to him once this was all over.

"There's one more thin..." Axel said, producing a small vial of clear potion with blue bubbles.

Zexion's face paled. "Th...That's..."

"Yep, it is!" Roxas answered. "It's a potion that confuses the one who drinks it..."

"...and makes the drinker think that anyone is a very hot women...and would do anything to have them..." Xigbar finished for Roxas.

Zexion backed into a wall, to get as far away as he could. "You wouldn't..." He said faintly.

Demyx and Roxas seized Zexion so that Axel could force-feed Zexion the potion.

"Hurry! Open the portal!" Axel called over to Xigbar.

Xigbar opened a portal, and all of them went through it, dragging a spluttering Zexion. The portal closed.

Saix had been watching at a distance, slightly confused. Shrugging, he left to find Xemnas to tell him what had happened.

-----

A half-hour later...

"Axel!!" Vexen roared angrily, trying to avoid an overly happy Zexion from grabbing him. "What did you do to Zexion?!"

Axel was watching the scene from a safe distance, along with Xigbar, Roxas, and Demyx. "What do you _mean_ Vexen? Don't you _want_ him to do that?" He and the three others burst into laughter.

Vexen froze some of the ground in an attempt to slow Zexion down. He glared over at the laughing nobodies. "Why would I want that?!" Vexen let out a gasp as Zexion tackled him and attempted to kiss him. Vexen got away, and managed to pin the scantily dressed Zexion to the groujnd.

There were a few 'oooo's from Axel and Xigbar.

Vexen threw them both a very dirty look, which managed to silence them. Vexen glanced around for an antidote that he thought should work. Zexion was giggling now and saying some things that unnerved Vexen greatly. Things like that should never come out of his mouth... Vexen finally located the antidote, and used ice to get it to him.

Vexen jabbed the needle of the antidote into one of Zexion's exposed arms, and waited a few minutes to allow the antidote to work. Vexen let Zexion up, but backed away, just in case.

Zexion sat up, groaning. He glanced around in confusion and jumped slightly when Vexen tossed a spare cloak his way. Zexion wrapped himself in the cloak, nodding gratefully to Vexen. Zexion then cast a silent glare over at Axel, who was the only one there now (Xigbar, Demyx and Roxas had wisely run off earlier).

Axel flashed Zexion a quick smile, before getting out of there as fast as he could.

Zexion left the lab to go to his room and change out of the skimpy clothing he had been forced into.

A few minutes later...

Zexion finished scribbling new notes onto the piece of paper. He stowed it away quickly when someone knocked on his door. Zexion headed for the door, wondering who it could be. Once opened, Zexion regretted the action immedeatly.

Standing in the doorway was Marluxia (in the pink dress) and he was giving Zexion such an evil glare that it would have killed if it were able to.

Zexion backed away, not knowing what to expect. It seemed like Marluxia had recovered from whatever had happened to him.

Marluxia took a step into the room, his eyes fixed on the Cloaked Schemer, an evil smile accompanying it. "Hello Zexion..."

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Ohh, cliffhanger...sorry! Please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter. I'd appreciate any comments.

I have the beggining of the next chapter written, but I'm still deciding what to add to it. I was thinking of having it be something that would involve Larxene, and a few other people that would feel her wrath if she had Zexion try to do anything to her. What do you think about that?

Anyway, thanks for reading (and reviewing) this chapter, and I'll try to update once I get the next chapter finished.

I'll also attempt to get my profile up to date, and try to update some of my other stroies as well.


	8. Payback Plus Betrayl

Yay! Reviews! Thank you! I feel motivated again! This is somewhat later than when I wanted to update, but I had to shovel snow two times this week, and it was more than a few inches...

Anyway, this chapter is kind of random, but it comes together at the end...Yeah.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything at all from Kingdom Hearts (2).

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Zexion stood where he was, eyeing Marluxia nervously. Whatever the dress had done to Marluxia had most _definatly_ worn off. Zexion tried hard not to laugh, but Marluxia...in a dress? That was _funny_.

Marluxia's glare remained. He had noticed a faint smile on Zexion's face. Marluxia moved forward quickly and grabbed Zexion by the front of his coat. "Why am I in a dress?" He asked softly.

Zexion gulped, then replied. "I don't know..."

Marluxia laughed. "Sure you don't..." He gave an evil smile of his own. "I guess that I didn't get my point the last time..."

_'Oh...that time when the potion that made Demyx and Roxas act weird...' _Zexion remembered.

Marluxia dragged Zexion all the way back to his room, where the man-eating venus fly trap was more than happy to hold onto Zexion with its vines. With one final glare at Zexion, Marluxia went into his bathroom, changed out of the dress, and back into normal clothing. Marluxia came back out with his scythe.

"I guess we need to have another little chat..." Marluxia said calmy.

Zexion tried to back away, cursing silently when the venus fly trap wouldn't let go of him.

---

Hours later...

Zexion lay prone on his bed, trying to rest. He hated dejavu. Zexion closed his eyes wearily. He'd just have to think of something very horrible to do to all of them. Zexion grinned an evil grin into his pillow as he thought of all the unpleasent things he could do.

----

Inside the kitchen...

Larxene was quietly eating at the table as Xigbar, Vexen, and Xaldin were arguing about something. Larxene didn't really care what they were talking about, since it didn't concern her. Minutes passed, and the coversaton escalated into a shouting match, along with laughs about something Vexen had created.

"Would you three idiots go away? I could just _shut_ you up!" Larxene abondoned her food and summoned some kunai and brandished them meanicingly at the three others.

Xigbar and Xaldin ignored her and began to start to talk again.

Vexen noticed that Larxene looked ready to attack, so he quickly asked. "Do you know why Marluxia wanted to kiss you?"

Larxene was in the process of throwing some kunai as she eyed Vexen suspiciously. "No...but you do?" She looked doubtful.

Vexen smiled faintly. "Zexion pretended to be you so that he could see you beat up Marluxia..." Vexen watched as Larxene stormed off in the direction of Zexion's room, looking furious.

"What'd you do that for Vexen? Don't you think Zexion deserves a break?" Xigbar asked.

Vexen sat down at the table, sighing. "Didn't you notice that she was about to attack you?"

"Yeah...I could have dodged it though." Xigbar replied.

Vexen sighed again but didn't say anything.

---

Marluxia was resting at the edge of his bed, thinking about what Zexion had had been doing to the other organization members. He laughed. Maybe he could help Zexion, but it would be more fun to do things himself. Or he could...Marluxia laughed again. Oh, the possibilities...Marluxia stretched, then got out of bed, deciding to tend to his plants while he thought.

The man eating venus fly trap was first, and Marluxia stopped in horror. The poor thing looked like someone had cut it a bit and maybe even kicked it. Marluxia knelt down next to it and stroked the laeves. "What happened to you?" He murmured. The venus fly trap moved slightly in response, then stopped, as if the movement hurt it. Marluxia inspected the plant carefully. It should be fine in awhile, along with some water. "I'll go get you some water..." Marluxia reassured the plant.

As Marluxia headed to the bathroom to get some water, he heard a faint crash and whispered arguing. Marluxia frowned as he headed towards the source of the noise. He turned one corner of his room, and soon found the culprits. Demyx and Axel. And they were playing around with his plants!

"_What are you doing in my room_?!" Marluxia roared furiously.

Axel and Demyx stared at Marluxia for a split second, then dashed off through a portal one of them had created. Marluxia followed as he summoned his scythe. "_You won't escape_!" He chased them for several minutes, but then lost track of them. Marluxia stood in the hall by himeslf, fuming, still gripping the scythe. That _did_ it! He was going to get Zexion to help him. Now. And this would be the only time he asked the Cloaked Schemer for help...

Marluxia created a portal and stepped through it, formulating a plan as he went.

---

Zexion was laying on his back, staring up at the ceiling. Damn Marluxia... Zexion jumped as his bedroom door slammed open. Zexion pushed himself up into sitting position. Why couldn't he ever get any sleep without someone _bothering _him? Zexion gulped as he saw who it was. Larxene...and she looked furious.

"What are you doing in my room?" Zexion asked calmly.

Larxene edged closer to Zexion's bed as she spoke. "Vexen told me that you impersonated me to get Marluxia beaten up..."

"What are you talking about..." Zexion replied. Why did Vexen have to go and tell her_ that_? He hadn't intended to ever let Larxene know that.

"Really..." Larxene said cooly, summoning a few kunai. "Little boys shouldn't lie..."

Zexion threw himself off the bed, narrowly missing getting hit by a kunai. Zexion flinched. Why did Marluxia have to hit so hard? It would take him a few days to recover, and even more if Larxene got him...

"Marluxia? What are you doing?" Larxene asked angrily.

Zexion glanced up and saw that Marluxia was blocking Larxene from getting to him.

Marluxia shrugged. "I wouldn't mind you beating him up, but I need his help first..." Marluxia turned and moved quickly over to Zexion, picking him up as he did.

"What are you _doing_?" Zexion asked as Marluxia created a portal and took them both through it.

"Quiet. I'll tell you in a minute." Marluxia replied.

Both of them reappeared in another hall, and Marluxia set Zexion down.

Zexion flinched again, and gave Marluxia a suspicious look. "What do you need _my_ help for?"

"I _need_ it because I need to get Demyx and Axel back for harming my plants." Marluxia answered.

Zexion was silent for a moment. This didn't seem too bad...he just wouldn't use the idea he had thought of..._that_ would be used later... "Fine...I guess you _did_ get me away from Larxene..."

"Good." Marluxia replied. "Now this is what I need you to do..."

---

Ten minutes later...

Zexion glanced around. No one was around... Zexion opened a door, and entered one of Vexen's labs. Zexion walked carefully, and sighed when he realized that Vexen was in here as well.

Zexion spotted what he was looking for, and snuck back out of the lab without Vexen noticing. He seemed to be very involved with whatever he was doing. _'Hope it's interesting...'_ Zexion thought as he exited the room and wandered off to use the potion as Marluxia had instructed.

A few minutes later, Zexion located Marluxia, who seemed to be waiting impatiently.

"Well?" Marluxia asked.

"The potion's been used...everything's ready..." Zexion replied.

Marluxia grinned evilly as he walked off. "Now all we need are the plant destroyers..."

Zexion watched him go. This was a pretty good plan after all. Poor Axel and Demyx...

---

The 'plant destroyers' were currently sneaking off with a bagful of things looted from Luxord's bedroom (like cards, dice, and some clothing). Behind them, they could hear Luxord's angry yelling about where all his stuff went to.

"...Axel? What are we going to do with this?" Demyx asked.

"We can hide it." Axel suggested.

"So, not only did you mess with my plants, you're stealing stuff from other people?" Came Marluxia's accusing voice.

Both Axel and Demyx glanced over their shoulders, before running off with a scythe-wielding Marluxia pursuing them.

"In there!" Axel gasped out. He and Demyx rushed into through an open door.

Marluxia slammed the door shut and locked it, laughing triumphently.

On the other side of the door, Axel and Demyx gave each other nervous looks.

"That can't be good..." Axel began, then let out a gasp as he and Demyx were pinned to the wall by several kunai. The bag lay forgotten on the ground. "Yep, not good." Axel said, trying in vain to free himself.

Larxene was at the other end of the room, and was currently smiling at them sweetly.

_'That's weird.'_ Demyx thought. _'Why is she smiling at us?'_

Axel's eyes widened in shock. Larxene wasn't acting _too_ far from the way she normally would, but something was definatly wrong. Axel expression suddenly got angry. "Not another potion!"

"Potion?" Demyx asked.

Larxene came over to the wall, and got Axel down from the wall.

Demyx struggled against the kunai as he watched in horror at what Larxene was doing to Axel. _'Have to...get away!'_ Demyx struggled more as Larxene approached him, glancing at an electrified and beaten-up Axel on the ground.

From the safety of the door, Marluxia and Zexion watched the scene, grinning evilly.

"This was a good idea..." Zexion told Marluxia.

"..."

Zexion glanced over at Marluxia, who was smiling faintly at him. "Marluxia?" Zexion asked. He tried to back away, but didn't move fast enough.

Marluxia gave Zexion a playful push, sending the Cloaked Schemer towards Larxene.

"W..What are you doing?" Zexion asked, as he bumped into Larxene.

Marluxia was laughing. "I didn't tell you that you were safe from all this!"

Larxene grabbed Zexion and hugged him, saying that he was cute.

Zexion struggled in Larxene's grasp, trying to get away, but Larxene just held on more tightly.

Axel and Demyx laughed from where they were sitting on the ground. Both were still hurt from before, but seeing Larxene hug Zexion was funny. The laughter wouldn't last for long, since Luxord entered the room.

Luxord grabbed the bag of stuff that was his, and gave Axel and Demyx an annoyed look.

Both Axel and Demyx stopped laughing as they noticed Luxord.

"Oh, hey Luxord...I see you've found your things..." Axel said with a small smile.

Demyx merely smiled ruefully, hoping that Luxord was in a good mood.

Luxord turned around, but before leaving the room, trapped Demyx and Axel into cards. He left the room with a laugh, accompanied by Axel and Demyx's pleas.

Zexion finally managed to break free of Larxene's grasp, and laughed as Larxene tried to kiss Axel and Demyx, who were unable to do anything trapped in the cards.

---

Xemnas and Saix had gone to see what all the noise was, and saw what Larxene was doing to Axel and Demyx. Xemnas sighed. "Saix, get Larxene away from them...I'll go find Luxord." Xemnas walked away.

Saix approached Larxene, looking unhappy.

Zexion watched from a distance, hopong that Larxene would attack Saix. That would be interesting...

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All right, another chapter done! Please review and let me know what you thought of this one. Any comment is fine.

Again, I have part of the next chapter written, but I'm still deciding which character Zexion will go after (or maybe I'll just have him go after a small group of people). Hmm...something like that. If you have any preferences, let me know, otherwise I'll just write what comes to mind.

Well, thanks for reading (and reviewing) and I'll update again when I'm able to.


	9. Meeting Inturrupted

Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Mmm...can't really think of anything else to say at the moment, other than that this chapter is a setup for the next chapter or two.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts.

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It had taken Xemnas nearly two hours to locate Luxord, who was relunctant to go and get Axel and Demyx out of the cards. Xemnas had finally gotten the Gambler of Fate to agree, and both walked back to the room (from which screams and yells were issuing out of). Xemnas shot Luxord an annoyed look, as if it were all his fault, before opening the door. Both Xemnas and Luxord stared in amazement at what was going on.

Demyx and Axel were still struggling in the cards they were trapped in, while Larxene was attacking Saix with kunai and electricity.

Xemnas noted that Zexion and Marluxia were nearby, snickering at the sight. He'd speak with them later. "Saix! What _are_ you doing?"

Saix dodged another set of kunai, before grabbing Larxene. "I miscalculated." Meaning that Larxene had noticed his approach and avoided his grasp at first.

"Luxord." Xemnas said.

Luxord released Axel and Demyx from the cards, before leaving the room.

A few minutes passed, before Larxene went back to normal "What are you holding me for?! Let go!" Larxene snarled, kicking the Luna Diviner hard.

Saix released her with a wince.

Larxene returned Saix's glare with one of her own, then turned her attention to Axel and Demyx, who looked weary and beaten up. "What happened to_ you_?"

"..." Axel and Demyx glanced at each other. Larxene obviously didn't remember anything.

Xemnas sighed wearily. Why were all these things happening when he wasn't around?

Zexion left the room silently, leaving behind an amused Marluxia (who was about to be subjected to one of Xemnas' lectures).

-----

A few days later...

Zexion dashed down the hallways. It was happening...again! Another of Xemnas' almost all day meetings! _No_! _Not_ today! There was no _way_ he'd go to a meeting today, for several reasons.

One, he wasn't in the mood to listen to Xemnas for hours on end. Second, he was very tired and high-strung, because he knew that a few of the members were after him. And lastly, because of the second reason, he couldn't think straight, and was in desparate need of a nap (or two or three).

Zexion paused in the hallway, swaying a bit. It was safe, for now...

"There you are_ Zexy_." Came Axel's voice.

Zexion turned around, and saw that Demyx and Xigbar were with Axel. "What?" Was all Zexion could think to say.

Xigbar grinned. "Xemnas called for a meeting. He sent us to get you." Xigbar looked at Zexion closely. "You feeling all right? You're usually one of the first ones there."

Zexion stared at Xigbar blankly for a moment, then became irritated. "Leave me _alone_..." Zexion turned and walked off.

The other three exchanged glances.

"Wonder what's wrong with him." Xigbar wondered as he watched Zexion walk away.

"Maybe he didn't get enough sleep?" Demyx suggested.

Axel was about to add some comment of his own, when Vexen interrupted him.

"Where's Zexion? Xemnas wants to start the meeting." Vexen said.

"He left...he seems to be a bit out of it. Demyx thinks he didn't get enough sleep." Axel replied, glancing in the direction the Cloaked Schemer had taken.

Vexen sighed. "Well, you two go back, Xigbar and myself will go retrieve Zexion." Once they were out of sight, Vexen turned to Xigbar. "Let's go."

"How are we supposed to get him to go back with us?" Xigbar asked.

"With this." Vexen replied, tossing Xigbar a tranquillizar gun.

Xigbar looked at it doubtfully.

Vexen saw this, and said. "It'll work."

"If you say so." Xigbar replied.

-----

Zexion stopped in another hallway. It was nice and quiet now. Xemnas could start his stupid meeting without him.

"Zexion."

Zexion looked up to see Vexen and Xigbar standing there...and Xigbar was aiming a gun at him... Zexion turned to run, but let out a yelp as he was hit on one of his shoulders. Zexion ran, suprised that he could still move. Maybe there hadn't been any affect? A moment later though, Zexion noticed that it was getting harder to move. Soon, he dropped to the ground unable to move it all.

"Temporary paralaysis." Vexen told the twitching nobody on the ground.

Zexion glared over at the two others.

Xigbar blinked in suprise at how many foul things came out of Zexion's mouth. He glanced at Vexen. "We better get him up to the meeting. I don't _think_ that he'll shoot his mouth off in there." He picked up Zexion, who was still saying very horrible things.

Vexen wagged a finger at Zexion. "Keep that up and I'll introduce you to some _experiments_ I've been working on."

Zexion quieted at this, but still glared angrily at both Vexen and Xigbar.

----

Xemnas waited impatiently in the meeting room. Where_ were _they? He glanced at the door as it opened. _'It's about time...'_

Xigbar and Vexen entered the room. The meeting commenced once Xigbar had gotten Zexion into a seat.

Zexion was still a bit paralyzed. He closed his eyes as Xemnas began to speak. He couldn't pay attention, and could hardly hear what Xemnas was saying. Only a few bits and pieces, which didn't make any sense.

A few hours into the meeting, Zexion couldn't take it anymore. Precious hours were being wasted. He _could_ have been catching up on some badly needed sleep. Not caring what others would think, Zexion leapt out of his seat, drawing many curious stares, and (to Zexion's relief) effectivly shutting Xemnas up.

"What is it?" Xemnas asked after a moment.

"Why are these meetings always so _long_? Do you _like_ to hear the sound of your own voice?" Zexion snapped.

Everyone in the room was dumbfounded.

Since no one answered him, Zexion continued. "You always talk about Kingdom Hearts, and stuff surrounding that. Everyone is probably hearing you say 'blah, blah, blah' after the first few minutes. Can't you make it _interesting_ instead of dreadfully boring? These meetings are almost _exactly_ the same! A little variaty couldn't kill you would it?"

This went on for several minutes, and almost everyone in the room had their jaws open in disbelief.

Xemnas was the most shocked of all. Zexion was the one who usually contibuted intellegent inputs in almost all of the meetings.

Zexion was currently finishing his tirade. "...I'm going to bed! I can't _stand_ this anymore! It has to be written somewhere that sleep depravation is bad for your health!" Zexion glared around the room.

Xemnas finally found himself able to speak. "What's wrong?"

Zexion looked at Xemnas. "I'm tired! One of the many things that's wrong!" He stormed off through a prtal. "I'm_ leaving_! I can't take anymore of this ceaseless _babbling_!"

There was silence, then murmurings. What was Zexion thinking?

Xemnas still appeared to be in shock,then became angry and insulted. Ceaseless _babbling_? Saix was forced to grab Xemnas before he could pursue. "Vexen!"

"Yes?" Vexen asked.

"Take Axel and Roxas with you. Bring Zexion back!" Xemnas ordered. When they were gone, Xemnas calmed, then glanced around the room. "...I'll just continue with the meeting." He ignored the soft groans from those present.

----

Zexion was in a lab, sulking. What had he been thinking? Zexion sighed. No doubt that Xemnas was sending someone to bring him back. Zexion mentally punched himself. He knew why he had done the outburst. Zexion had been trying to figure out a way to throw everyone off, so that his plan could be set into motion. The outburst hadn't exactly been what he had been planning, but it worked out just the same. No sleep could provide interesting happenings. Zexion heard someone enter the lab.

"Zexion?"

It was Vexen. Zexion sighed. He really didn't want to try and explain things.

"What was that all about?" Vexen asked, stopping a few feet away from the Cloaked Schemer.

"...I don't know...I just didn't want to listen to Xemnas today...I'm too tired..." Zexion replied, then left the room, leaving behind a perplexed Vexen.

----

"Where should we try next?" Roxas asked. He and Axel had been searching for Zexion for over an hour.

"I suppose we could try the library." Axel replied. "Though we should try to delay it as long as possible. Less time to listen to Xemnas you know."

"Oh yeah." Roxas exclaimed.

So, two hours later they finally decided to chaeck the library. They found Zexion there, reading a book titled 'Sleeping Techniques'. Axel peered over Zexion's shoulder. Zexion was currently reading '_Chapter 6: Different sleeping patterns: how to take advantage of them all.'_

"Um...Zexion? Could you go back to the room with us?" Roxas asked.

Zexion continued to read. "...No."

Axel and Roxas kept trying to convine Zexion to go back with them, but gave up and went back when Zexion had gotten to '_Chapter 8: Different methods to try_.'

---

"Well, where is he?" Xemnas asked when Vexen, Axel, and Roxas had returned.

"He says he won't come back." Axel said after Vexen had spoken.

Xemnas sighed. "I guess I'll go get him..." As Xemnas left the vicinity, he ignored all the relieved sighs.

---

Zexion had finished the 'Sleeping Techniques' book, and had moved onto another titled 'Hypnosis: How to get oneself to sleep.' Zexion glanced up quickly when he noticed that Xemnas was standing in front of him.

"Zexion..." Xemnas began.

"Sorry..." Zexion said, looking dejectedly at the book on his lap.

Xemnas blinked in suprise, then he shook his head. "...It's fine...don't worry about it...let's go back." He turned around, not noticing Zexion's faint smile.

Zexion got up off the chair and followed Xemnas back into the meeting room. Zexion sat back down in his chair, as Xemnas resumed the meeting.

Throughout the rest of the meeting, Zexion was insightful and thoughtful, which confused everyone in the room.

At the end of the meeting, almost everyone had a new mission, but all of them were still puzzled by Zexion's behavior.

Zexion was smiling to himself, enjoying everyone else's confusion. _'Let them think what they want...' _ Zexion thought as he walked along, ignoring anyone who stared at him. Zexion let out a short laugh. _'Soon...'_

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Yes, that was the end of the chapter. Please review and let me know what you thought of it, or just leave some kind of comment.

This was a setup for the next chapter, and a bit of the next one after that. I should be able to update this two more times in the next week, if people would want me to update that soon (when my next classes start I will have more homework and less time with the computer).

...I should also be updating my other stories, but new chapters keep coming up for this (I'm having fun with it). Xaldin will be bugged either in the next chapter, or the one after it.

Anyway, thanks for reading and/or reviewing!


	10. Prank plus the Ice Cream Attackers

Thank you for reviewing! It helps to know if people are reading the story and like it.

Guess what? Part of this chapter was influenced by my interpretation of the Russian Sailors' Dance from the Red Poppies(?). How is that for random?

Anyway...Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts 2.

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Zexion was resting in a commons room after having completed a very easy mission (he had expected Xemnas to give him something harder after having interrupted one of his meetings). Many of the other organization members were also in the room, resting after some very difficult missions. Zexion closed his eyes and sighed contentedly. Very soon the entertainment would come.

Crashes and yells, along with laughter shattered the scerene peace. Zexion merely smiled.

Everyone in the room except for Zexion appeared very disturbed. What was going on?

The doors to the room suddenly burst open, and Xemnas and Saix came dancing into the room, twirling and prancing around. They were soon followed by Xaldin and Luxord, who were doing a tango, and beng very dramatic about it. The last person to enter the room was Axel, who was dancing alone and being very emotional about it.

The seven other nobodies in the room stared for a moment, before busting into uncontrolled laughter. Most of it didn't last long, at least for Roxas, because Axel had ran over and grabbed him, dragging Roxas off to dance an odd two-step.

Roxs struggled in Axel's grasp, and managed to call out. "Zexion! What did you do?!"

Zexion promptly pretended to be asleep, even leaving a book open on his lap for good measure (as if he had fallen asleep reading).

Xigbar walked over to Zexion and shook him awake.

Zexion yawned widely, then looked up at Xigbar. "What is it?" He asked 'sleepily.'

Xigbar turned and indicated the five dancing nobodies, who had suddenly surounded poor Roxas and began to sing 'London Bridge is Falling Down'.

Zexion stifles a laugh, then looked up at Xigbar and said with a straight face. "I have no idea."

A few minutes passed, and Xemnas, Saix, Luxord and Xaldin stopped dancing. All of them looked very confused, especially Axel, who was holding a very distressed Roxas in a tight hug. All of them, minus Roxas, glared at Vexen, who looked suprised.

"What?" Vexen asked, before getting off the chair he was on. Xemnas and the three others pursued the Chilly Academic around the room, demanding to know what happened to them.

This amused Zexion greatly, but he had forgotten to hide his smile. Any traces of amusement were washed away when Zexion saw Xemnas looking directly at him, looking absolutly furious. Zexion lowered his gaze as Xemnas approached him. Zexion started slightly when papers were dropped ontop of the book. Zexion picked up the papers, and, after setting the book to one side, created a portal to go and complete the mission Xemnas had just given him.

Xemnas watched him leave, before turning around to face the others. He was ready to give a lecture again.

It was about then that another affect kicked in (who knows what Zexion used).

Xemnas ran a hand over his face and sighed. Axel and Roxas were assulting the other members now, demanding to know where they had hidden the sea-salt ice cream cones. Xemnas stared up at the ceiling. _ 'This had better not have been Zexion's doing...'_

----

A few hours later...

Zexion was walking throuhg Twilight Town after having completed his mission. The type of mission had worked out well, because now that he was here in town, he could get the boxes of sea-salt ice cream Axel and Roxas had pestered him into buying. Zexion paid for the many boxes, then carried them through a portal to hide them in a secret freezer that only he knew where it was.

A half hour later...

Zexion carried the last box through the portal, panting. Why had they wanted so much ice cream? What he had just bought could last well over a year. Zexion glanced around the halls, then smiled. Xemnas was headed this way. And Axel and Roxas were coming from an opposite direction. Zexion placed the box in an obvious spot, then hid to watch the scene that would unfold.

----

Xemnas was walking the halls, trying to calm himself down. He had sent a few other members to go look for Axel and Roxas, who were wreaking havoc everywhere to find sea-salt ice cream. Xemnas had mistakenly set off the rampage by saying that there was no more ice cream left.

Xemnas turned a corner, then halted, staring at an innocent little box sitting on the ground. Xemans approached it and picked it up. "?" Xemnas looked inside, and to his suprise found. "Sea-salt ice cream?"

"You liar!" A voice yelled loudly.

Xemnas turned around and saw a furious Axel and Roxas. They were approaching him slowly, eyes on the box he was holding. Xemnas, instead off dropping the box and running to avoid injury, tried to be authoritive. "I don't know how this got here, but you aren't going to be allowed to have any...!" Xemnas let out a gasp as Axel and Roxas tackled Xemnas, screaming. "SEA-SALT ICE CREAM!!!"

The box, amazingly, stayed in Xemnas' grasp, who was still refusing to let Axel or Roxas have any. Which was an unfortanate decision.

Ten minutes and a sea-salt ice cream scuffle later...

Axel and Roxas were sitting on the ground, enjoying their second sea-salt ice cream cone. They were sitting on a bound and gagged Xemnas, who was extremly angry and wanting to kill something. The two on top of him seemed to be oblivious as they conversed

"This ice cream is so good, isn't it Axel?"

"Mmm...huh? Oh, sure is."

"Should we let anyone else have any?"

"Nah, there isn't much anyway. Maybe we should let Xemnas have one so that he won't kill us."

"Mmmhmm..." Roxas was too absorbed on eating the ice creamy goodness to answer his friend.

Zexion had been watching the whole thing, having a hard time not laughing. Once he had regined his composure, he walked over calmy, ignoring Xemnas' piercing gaze on him.

Axel and Roxas noticed Zexion, and the latter threw Zexion an ice cream. Zexion caught it and joined them in their conversation.

"You like it Zexy?"

"It's good...don't call me that."

"Hey...do you think Xemnas will kill us?"

"Well..we could leave him tied up and run away..."

"Won't he get angrier?"

Zexion glanced down at Xemnas, then back to Axel. "He can't get away, can he?"

Axel and Roxas stood up, and glanced at each other. They suddenly ran off.

Zexion watched them retreat to a safe distance, then yelled.

"We knew you were trying to do something to us, but it only half-worked!"

"See? I told you he's been doing things!"

Zexion stared for a moment, then broke into a run, only to be seized by the hood and dragged back seconds later. Zexion gulped as Xemnas glared at him. Right about then was when Zexion was hoping that it was Marluxia, and not Xemnas, who was saying something about punishment.

Axel and Roxas watched as Xemnas dragged Zexion off, then both began to eat their third sea-salt ice cream.

"You know Zexion's going to try and do something horrible to you, right?" Roxas asked.

Axel shrugged. "Not for awhile. I'd say a few weeks, if Xemnas doesn't turn Zexion into a dusk."

Both went silent as they resumed eating their ice cream.

---

The next day...

Vexen glanced up from his work as Zexion limped into the lab, and slumped in a chair that had somehow found its way in there. Vexen left off his work and frowned at Zexion. "You didn't think you'd be caught?"

Zexion groaned and closed his eyes. "Leave me alone."

"Why don't you go to your room then?" Vexen asked.

"Uhhnn." Zexion groaned, sprawling in the chair.

Vexen rolled his eyes, then went back to work on whatever he had been working on. "If you're going to stay in here, then be quiet. I need to concentrate."

Zexion quieted, then began to plan his revenge. The majority of what happened was Axel's fault, so... Zexion began to grin, and got out of the chair, flinching and groaning.

Vexen watched as Zexion began to rummage through beakers and potions, smiling evilly as he muttered to himself. Vexen heard a few of the words.

"If I...then...yes that would...only temporary...squash...Axel...injure...maim..." Were a few of the words.

Vexen decided not to comment, because he didn't want to be involved with whatever Zexion was planning.

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Yep, end of chapter. Please review and tell me what you thought of it (comments are greatly appreciated).This chapter is a bit shorter than the others, but the next should be a bit longer.

I have a rough idea of the next two chapters (maybe even three), centering around Zexion punishing Axel (it was something that popped into my head awhile ago-it had been an idea for another story, but it seemed to fit in with this one better). Want a clue? Okay, all I'm saying is this: dusk. Interpret it however you like. You'll find out in the next chapter.

(I was going to have Zexion target Xaldin in this one, but I didn't really have a solid idea of what would happen. It will be a chapter once I figure out something...).

Anyway, thanks for reading and/or reviewing!


	11. The 'Accident'

Thank you for the reviews! ...I'm kind of half-asleep right now, so I don't know what else to say, other than poor, poor Axel. So here's chapter 11.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts (2).

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Axel was being very cautious a few weeks after he and Roxas had tricked Zexion. Axel wondered if Zexion was planning something. Both he and Roxas felt bad several minutes after Xemnas had dragged Zexion off to punish him. No one probably deserved to be tortured by Xemnas.

Axel was currently resting on a couch in the library, staring off into space as he thought. He hadn't seen Zexion after that incident, but from what he had heard from Roxas, other people had seen the Cloaked Schemer. Axel blew out a long sigh and turned onto his other side, to stare at a door. He wondered again if Zexion was planning on doing something to him.

Axel suddenly let out a short laugh and closed his eyes. Nah, Zexion was probably still recovering. Axel didn't know that screaming could be heard from a far distance (he and many others from the organization hadn't gotten a good night's sleep). But...what if Zexion _was_ planning something?

"Axel...?" Roxas' voice asked.

Axel opened his eyes and glanced over at the door, where Roxas stood. "What's up?" He asked. Hopefully it wasn't about Xemnas wanting him to go on another mission.

"Vexen wants to see you." Roxas answered.

Axel made a face as he sat up slowly, stretching and yawning widely (and it was very exaggerated). "What does the old man need me for?"

Roxas shrugged. "I don't know. It seemed to be urgent."

Axel heaved a sigh and got off the couch, heading for the door. "Well, then I might as well see what he wants, so that he won't keep pestering me..."

Roxas watched Axel walk off towards one of Vexen's labs, wondering why he didn't just use a portal.

----

Axel entered Vexen's lab, and saw the Chilly Academic working on something intently on a table. It seemed pretty intense to Axel, so he waited quietly (amazingly), since he didn't want Vexen flinging chunks of ice at him again (Axel had disrupted an experiment some time ago, and Vexen's reaction was one that Axel didn't feel like provoking anytime soon).

Vexen kept working on what he was doing, already knowing that Axel was in the room. Vexen was glad that Axel was being quiet, but was beginning to start to feel guilty for having requested Axel to come down into this room. He decided to strike up a conversation to try to feel better with what was about to happen.

"You got here fairly quick. I thought someone would have to drag you kicking and screaming down here." Vexen said as he carefully added one potion to another, smiling when the result seemed to be the desired one.

Axel rolled his eyes. "What do you want?"

Vexen paused what he was doing, keeping his gaze firmly on the table as he sought out an answer. As long as Axel didn't know he was in on another of Zexion's ideas, he would be safe. He had to keep up a friendly front. Hopefully Zexion would be on que. "Well...I was going to ask you about a few of my experiments, but perhaps I should have someone else...Oh! Zexion."

Axel's attention immediatly went to the said individual, eyeing him suspiciously. Had he been hanging out in the lab for the past few weeks? That must have been stressful, having to listen to Vexen babbling. He hoped that hadn't made Zexion snap or anything.

Zexion came out from the shadows, carrying some kind of potion in an uncorked bottle. "I found the potion Vexen..._Ahh_!" Zexion 'tripped', and he lost his grip on the bottle, 'accidentaly' splashing Axel with its contents.

Vexen , while Axel was distracted, shook his head in disapproval, before leading Axel to a shower where he could rinse off.

While Axel was doing that, Vexen went back over to an evilly grinning Zexion. "It's nice that you've been making better potions, but can't you put your efforts into something else? Like other things better than what's going to happen to Axel with the potion you just spilled all over him?"

Zexion continued to grin evilly. "But this will be so much fun Vexen..."

"What if he tries to do something back to you after the potion wears off?" Vexen asked.

"As long as he thinks I got him with the potion unintentionally, he probably won't do anything..." Zexion replied as he listened to Axel muttering something about how the potion should have been covered.

A few minutes later, Axel headed towards the door of the lab. He glanced back at Zexion, who was looking back at him with a weary expression. "Maybe you should get some more rest Zexion."

Zexion shrugged. "You should too Axel. And I'd change into new clothing as well."

Axel scowled at Zexion as he left the lab.

Vexen watched Axel leave, then went back to the table as Zexion began to snicker. This was going to be...amusing. At least, to him. Axel wouldn't be happy at all.

----

Roxas passed Axel, who was headed for his room. "So...what did Vexen want?"

Axel glanced at Roxas. "Not sure...Zexion spilled a potion all over me though..."

"Oh..." Roxas replied as Axel went into his room, and shut the door.

"Um...okay..." Roxas said to no one in particular, and he walked off..

----

Inside the room, Axel took another shower (even though he didn't like it). But, he wanted to make sure that the potion residue was gone. After changing into some new clothing, Axel collapsed onto his bed wearily. He was wondering now whether Zexion had planned that or not. Axel closed his eyes, deciding that he should get some rest, so that he could think more clearly.

----

Zexion had gone to his room as well, because he couldn't stand Vexen giving him disapproved glares. Zexion knew that he was only half angry at him, since he knew that he'd be interested in what would happen to Axel. Zexion curled up on his bed, yawning. Axel had been right, he _should _get some sleep.

Zexion drifted to sleep, smiling in anticipation. He knew what the potion would do to Axel, even though it would only last for a few days.

----

Vexen was still in his lab, and was currently scribbling down notes furiously on anything that remotely resembled paper. He paused momentarily as he thought about what Axel was going to be subjected to. Vexen went back to writing, still feeling a bit guilty.

-----

The next day...

Axel woke up after having a very strange dream. It was so scattered that he couldn't remember any of it clearly. The more awake Axel became, the more he felt kind of...funny. Not in a laughing way, but more along the lines of feeling stange and uncomfortable. Axel decideed to ignore the feeling for now, and concentrate on waking up fully and getting out of bed.

The feeiling still hadn't gone a few minutes later, and Axel was beginning to feel uneasy. He got out of bed, only to lose his footing and go crashing into the ground. How the heck did he manage to fall over? Maybe he was still sleepy...

Axel's thoughts screeched to a halt as he looked up at a mirror. Axel leapt up in horror, then cautiously approached the mirror once he figured out how to move. Yep, that was definatly his reflection in the mirror. And it was then that Axel hoped that this was some sick kind of joke and he was just imagining things.

The reflection in the mirror showed a regular dusk, though somewhat smaller with different coloring. What was white on normal dusk was mostly red, and there were little markings beneath where the eyes would be. The rest of the colors were normal.

Axel raised his hands shakily, and found himself staring at bound dusk hands... Oh..._no_! He turned into a dusk?! When did that happen?! Did Xemnas come into his room and change him into one? Or what? Axel scurried around his room in panic. This was not happening to him! It had to all be a horrible dream.

Axel ran straight into the wall, and it...hurt. _No_! He was awake! Nononono...this was not happening! Axel began pacing again. Who would do this to him? Zexion? Vexen? Someone? What should he do? Was he stuck like this? While Axel paced in panic, his bedroom door opened. Axel paused in his pacing, and glanced over to see who it was. Roxas maybe? He could help him.

Axel froze when he saw who it was. Marluxia. And after his initial shock, Marluxia's expression became amused, then changed into an evil grin. Axel shrunk against the wall. This didn't bode well.

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Yeah, end of chapter. Please review and let me know how this turned out (or just leave some kind of comment). I'd really appreciate it.

This chapter came up because I remembered the part in the game where Axel was talking to Roxas a second time. I think he said something like 'Yeah, but I'm not getting changed into a dusk for...' before he thought that Roxas actually remembered him. Hmm, maybe I'll go back and play that part again...

I'll update as soon as I can, and thanks for reading and/or reviewing.


	12. Axel Dusk

Thanks for the reviews! I was going to put this up yesterday, but the site wouldn't let me log in. So, I'm putting it up today. This chapter is longer than the last three.

Oh, and about me wanting to go back and play though that part of the game. I just wanted to know if that was what Axel said or not...I suppose I could just find a script and check it (didn't think of that before...). Anyway:

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts (2).

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Axel backed up against the wall as much as he could. Encountering Marluxia after just realizing that he had been turned into a dusk was _not_ a good thing. In fact, it was the worst thing that could possibly happen to him. _'Or not...'_ Axel decided, thinking that there were worse things, such as Larxene finding him first (and she would most likely zap him upon seeing him).

Marluxia was currently giving Axel a horribly evil expression. "Well, well Axel...what happened to you?" He paused as he summoned he scythe. "Did Xemnas do this to you? Or did something _else_ happen?" Marluxia was enjoying Axel's discomfort. He ran a finger along the scythe's blade, then looked at Axel again. "I came here because Xemnas wants to see you..." Marluxia grinned evilly again. "...but I think I'll have some fun with you first."

Axel dropped to the ground as Marluxia approached him. This was not good, at all. What if Marluxia went overboard? Axel scrambled to get away as Marluxia swung his scythe, laughing his head off.

Neither of them noticed that Zexion was watching the scene in silence. He looked away a couple times, not knowing whether to laugh or feel sorry for Axel. He hadn't expected Marluxia to find him right away.

----

Roxas was turning to and fro in his bed, wrapping himself more and more into his blankets. When he finally woke up, he was trapped. Disorientred, Roxas thought that someone was holding onto him, preventing him from getting out of bed.

"Let _go_ of me!" Roxas yelled sleepily. The blankets seemed to refuse to let him become untangled, making Roxas frustrated. "Let go of me already!" Roxas thrashed as he attempted in vain to free himself again. Why wouldn't whoever was holding onto him let him go? "I mean it, if you don't let go I'll...ahhh!!"

Roxas let out a suprised cry as he toppled off the side of the bed and landed on the ground in a very undignified manner. He kicked around as he slowly began to loose himself from the entangling sheets. Roxas struggled upright, and glared down at the blankets, still half asleep. He kicked at them moodily. "That'll teach you." He muttered.

"What are you doing? You're waking everyone up with all that racket!" An annoyed Xaldin asked, poking his head in the room.

Roxas blinked at him, then glanced down at the blankets, still thinking that it was a person. "They wouldn't let go of me!" He said in anger. Roxas missed Xaldin's confused, yet amused look.

Xaldin walked off. "Right, don't let those blankets get the best of you."

Roxas processed what Xaldin had said, then began to blush in embarresment. Geez, he had thought that the blankets had been a person? Roxas shook his head. Man, he_ really_ should get some more sleep.

"Hey Roxas..are you okay?" Demyx poked his head into Roxas' room, a concerned look on his face.

"Yeah...I'm fine...I...I just thought someone had been grabbing me...but it just turned out to be my bedsheets..." Roxas replied in embarresment.

Demyx let out a laugh, but then calmed dowm, after seeing Roxas' expression. He then changed the topic. "Have you seen Axel?"

"No...I haven't...not since last night...why?" Roxas asked.

"Well...I would have thought Axel would have been the first person to see if you were all right." Demyx responded.

"Oh." Roxas said softly. "Should we go look for him? He did have a bit of trouble in one of Vexen's labs yesterday."

"Why not, it's better than having to listen to Xemnas." Demyx replied.

"Yeah, could you believe what Zexion did at the last meeting?" Roxas asked as he headed for the bedroom door.

Demyx stepped aside so that Roxas could get out. "No, that was really wierd."

Roxas glanced up and down the hall. "Yeah...so...where should we go look?"

Dmeyx shrugged. "He's problably either in his room or the library..." Demyx broke off, then took off running. "I'll check the library." Was all he said.

Roxas watched him go, confused. What was wrong with him? Roxas glanced in the opposite direction Demyx had gone. He then saw why Demyx had ran off. Larxene was storming down the hallway, sending lightning flying in every direction as she went. Roxas ran off after Demyx without a word.

A few minutes later...

Roxas had calmed down slightly, and was now headed towards Axel's room. Suddenly, Roxas dove behind a well-placed pillar, and watched as Marluxia strode by, humming to himself, his scythe resting over one shoulder. He seemed pleased about something.

Once Marluxia was gone, Roxas dashed off to Axel's room. He had a bad feeling about this. Marluxia only acted like this after he had given someone a sound beating. Roxas stopped short as he saw a dusk twitching on the ground outside of Axel's room.

To Roxas, it was a bit smaller than a normal dusk, and the parts that were white were mostly red on this one. What caught Roxas' attention were the little markings beneath where the eyes would be. Roxas knelt next to the little dusk, staring down at the poor little thing, then gasped out when he thought he figured out who it was. "Axel?" Roxas breathed in astonishment.

The dusk (who was Axel), looked up at Roxas, then weakly attempted to raise one of his hands but couldn't.

Roxas scooped up the little Axel dusk, and stared at him for a moment. "Did you do something that Xemnas didn't like?"

Axel shook his head. Then, he managed to say. "Vexen's lab...Zexion...spill...potion...on me..."

Roxas looked concerned now. "We should go see Xemnas then, I suppose."

Axel squirmed in Roxas' grasp, not really in the mood to see Xemnas. "No...Roxas..." Axel said weakly as Roxas created a portal to get to Xemnas' room more quickly.

---

Xemnas was quietly reading through several mission reports he had recieved from Xaldin, Lexaeus, and Luxord. A few of them were very long and drawn out, making Xemnas wonder if they had actually completed the mission, or if they were just trying to add stuff to make it seem like they did something. The silence was broken as Roxas entered the room abruptly, holding a small dusk tightly in his arms.

Xemnas set aside the papers and stared at Roxas in annoyance. "What do you want Roxas? Can't you see I'm busy?"

Roxas didn't really know what to say, so he merely held up the little Axel dusk for Xemnas to get a better look at.

Xemnas rubbed his temples and sighed. "Why are you bothering me with a dusk? Just get rid of it if it's acting up."

Roxas held the Axel dusk close, horrified with Xemnas' suggestion. "Why would I do that?!"

Axel was squirming again in Roxas' grasp. He couldn't breathe.

Xemnas went back to his papers. After a few minutes passed, and Roxas still didn't leave, Xemnas looked up at him again. "Why aren't you leaving? I need to concentrate!"

Roxas held up Axel again. "This isn't _just_ a dusk. It's Axel! Why did he change into a dusk?!"

Xemnas stared in suprise at the dusk that was presumably Axel. He then regined his composure and went back to the papers again. "Don't ask me, go bother Vexen or something. I'm sure Vexen could figure out why..." He trailed off, after having apparently found something very interseting in one of the reports.

Roxas shook his head, then created a portal and left Xemnas' room, while keeping a firm grip on the little Axel dusk, who was trying to escape. He didn't want to see Vexen like this. What if he tried to perform experiments on him?

---

"Zexion. Hand me that vial, carefully."

"Right...anything else?"

"..."

"Vexen...?"

"Shh! This could be very dangerous if it goes wrong."

"..."

Vexen and Zexion were in a lab, working on something ever since Axel had left the room the day before (Zexion had left once earlier this day to get something).

Zexion watched in silence as Vexen added the substance in the vial to a potion. Zexion was concerned because Vexen was treating the vial as if it would and could explode at any moment.

Vexen added the vial and leaned back as though something horrible would happen.

Zexion let out a sigh of relief as the potion only changed colors. Vexen seemed disappointed that nothing more interesting had happened. Zexion was about to ask something when the lab doors banged open and Roxas stormed in. Zexion quickly hid a grin upon seeing Axel. The potion had indeed worked very well.

Before Vexen could question Roxas, the boy held up the little Axel dusk.

"What did you _do_ to him?!" Roxas demanded angrily.

Vexen came forward and looked Axel over carefully, while Axel shifted uncomfortably in Roxas' grasp. The way Vexen was looking at him was unnerving.

Vexen glanced over at Zexion, seeming to communicate to him silently that the potion he had dumped on Axel had worked. Vexen looked back to Roxas, who was looking at him for an explanation. Vexen sighed. "Something must have turned him into a dusk..."

Axel started to wriggle in Roxas' grasp, trying to get at Zexion suddenly.

"What is it Axel?" Roxas asked.

"Zexion dumped a potion on me! I told you he was behind it earlier, didn't I?" Axel replied, having gotten control over speech now.

"I didn't know something like this would happen." Zexion said in an inncoent voice. He ignored Vexen's look that seemed to say 'you liar, you knew what was going to happen.'

"Do you...know how long this'll last?" Roxas asked. He and Axel waited for Zexion to answer.

Zexion thought for a moment, before stating, with a straight face. "A few days, at the most. Axel had gotten the potion off him pretty quickly yesterday."

Axel slumped limply in Roxas' grasp. How was he going to survive a few days without being beaten up or destroyed?

"Is there an antidote?" Roxas asked.

Zexion shook his head. "No, it'll just wear off."

"Oh." Roxas glanced down at Axel, then headed towards the room's exit. "Don't worry Axel. I won't let anyone hurt you." Roxas said reassuringly, seeming to sense Axel's sudden source of depression. "But you're going to do my chores for awhile after this." Roxas assed with a faint grin.

Zexion and Vexen watched them leave. Once they were gone, and out of earshot, Zexion collapsed into a chair and started to laugh. Oh, the next couple of days were going to be great!

Vexen went back to study the potion, glancing over at Zexion in silence. After a couple minutes, Vexen spoke. "I'm beginning to worry about you..." He told the still laughing Zexion.

Zexion calmed down a bit, then got up and headed for the door. "I'm fine Vexen."

"I'm not so sure Zexion..." Vexen muttered, before going back to the potion and staring hard at it. It had the right ingrediants, so why didn't it do something more than just change colors?

Outside the lab, Xigbar was passing by, and was jolted as something exploded inside. Xigbar stared at the doors. "?"

A voice, Vexen', called out. "I'm all right!"

Xigabr shook his head, then walked off. Behind him, moments later, Vexen yelled again. "No! Help! Someone help me!" Roars could be heard within the lab, accompanied by cries for help from Vexen.

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Poor Vexen. Heh. Please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter. Any comments are great. Poor Axel, he will get some revenge in the next chapter.

I'll try to get the next chapter up soon, so until then, thanks for reading and/or reviewing!

(I'm also trying to keep my profile updated to show how far I'm on a chapter, and when it might get posted).


	13. Replica

Thank you for reviewing! It's great motivation, and I really enjoy hearing what you guys think of this story.

This chapter is much longer than any of the chapters I've written for this so far. I made it longer because I'm going to be busy for the next couple of days, and during that time I'm not going to be getting onto a computer to type anything.

So, that's why it's a couple hundred words more. I think that this chapter gets better as you read it, so anyway...

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts (2).

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Zexion rested in his room, content. It was very early in the morning...everyone was probably still asleep. Zexion stared up at his ceiling with a faint grin on his face. There were still a few days left before Axel would change back from being a dusk. That left quite enough time for him to torture Axel for who knows how many pranks he pulled (some of which had led to injuries).

There was a knock on the bedroom door.

Zexion glanced over his shoulder in question. Who else would be up at this hour? When the knocking persisted, Zexion rolled out of bed with a sigh and approached it. "Just a moment..." Zexion opened the door, then let out a gasp as Demyx hurled himself into the room, and onto the Cloaked Schemer.

Demyx got off upon seeing a look from Zexion. "S..sorry..." Demyx said sheepishly.

Zexion stood up from where Demyx had knocked him down. "What do you want so early in the morning Demyx? I would think that you'd still be asleep at this hour?"

Demyx fidgeted as he glanced back out of the room. "Larxene is after me. I accidentally went into her room..."

"DEMYX! _Where are you?!_" A furious Larxene could be heard yelling.

"What did you do?" Zexion asked, bemused.

Demyx shut Zexion's door to block out the yelling, and backed away quickly. "I...I..."

The door slammed open, and there stood an angry Larxene, wrapped in a very large towl, looking absolutly murderous.

Both Zexion and Demyx backed away.

Larxene had summoned some kunai. "I think a fried noboby sounds good, doesn't it Demyx?"

Time passed, but not a word was said. Each passing moment, however, made Zexion more and more unnerved by seeing the expression on Larxene's face.

After another long moment, Larxene finally broke the silence. "Zexion...would you care to join Demyx?" She asked pleasantly, making the kunai she held in her hands obvious.

Demyx gave Zexion a pleading look, begging him to not leave him here alone.

Zexion sighed. He might as well help Demyx, because he could get some help from the sitarist later. Zexion created a portal and tugged Demyx through the portal, leaving behind a furious Larxene.

Both exited the portal, and Zexion allowed Demyx to thank him over and over. "You're _welcome_. Now, if you'll excuse me..." Zexion walked off towards some stairs, deciding to go and see what Vexen was up to, since he was usually awake early in the morning.

Demyx fled through another portal, to see if he could find somewhere safe to hide until Larxene had calmed down and didn't want to maim him anymore.

---

Roxas yawned and turned over in his sleep, holding onto something. It was warm...and...it was _moving_... Roxas woke abruptly, and stared sleepily at what he had been hugging all night long. It was Axel and if dusks had expressions, Axel would have looked irritated as well as sleepy.

"Why were you squeezing me all night?" Axel asked, managing to wriggle loose from Roxas' grasp.

"S...Sorry Axel. I didn't mean to..." Roxas began, then stopped. "What are you doing in my bed?"

The little Axel dusk slumped comfortably on the bed. "I was going to sleep in my room, but Marluxia was hanging around it..." Axel broke off, then folded his bound hands. "Besides, you said you'd protect me from everyone else...right?"

"Well, yeah, but you should have told me that you were going to sleep in my room..." Roxas replied.

Axel laughed. "I tried to tell you, but you were already asleep. I tried hitting you, but all you did was snore."

"I was _not_ snoring!" Roxas said irritably.

"Yes you _were_. It was a _horrible_ noise." Axel shot back.

Roxas was about to reply, when there was a knock on the door. He quickly lept out of bed, while also managing to stuff Axel under the bed covers. Roxas walked over to the door, opening it in trepidation. Roxas gave a big sigh of relief when he saw that it was just Demyx.

"Can I come in?" Demyx asked nervously, glancing over his shoulder.

"Um...sure..." Roxas said, allowing Demyx to enter the room. _'What did he do this time?'_

Demyx sat down on Roxas' bed, only to jump up after hearing Axel's voice.

"Get _off_ Demyx! You almost _sat_ on me!!"

Demyx stared at the bed, wide-eyed, as the little Axel dusk struggled out from beneath the bedsheets. "Axel?" Demyx asked in suprise, poking at him.

Axel slapped Demyx's hand away. "Of course it's me!"

"What happened to you?" Demyx asked.

Axel sighed and glanced in Roxas' direction. "Would you _please_ explain?"

Roxas sat down on the bed as well, careful not to sit on Axel. "Sure."

----

Zexion headed down some more stairs, before stopping in front of some double doors that led to a lab. Xaldin and Xigbar were there as well. "What are you two doing up so early...?!" Zexion gasped as the other two nobodies grabbed him and pushed him up against the double- doors. "?!"

"Just listen." Xaldin told the Cloaked Schemer, leaning his head against the door. Xigbar was doing the same thing.

Zexion sighed, then closed his eyes and listened. The sounds soon became apparent, as was the situation Vexen was in.

"_No_! Stay back!"

"Why?"

Noooo! Someone...help...meeee!"

"Come here."

"N...No...please...don't..."

"Hmpf."

"Heellllpppp! Meeee!"

"Snarl."

Therer were crashing sounds, followed by cries from Vexen.

"How long has this been going on?" Zexion questioned.

"A few hours." Xigbar replied.

"Then why haven't you tried to help him?" Zexion asked.

Very loud crashes rang out, and more cries could be heard.

Zexion rolled his eyes and opened the double doors. Xigbar and Xaldin looked over Zexion at the scene that was unfolding (and had been for the past few hours).

Vexen was vainly trying to avoid a replica, that resembled Saix, who was currently trying to hug him.

The Saix replica kept chasing Vexen around, until the Chilly Academic noticed the three others watching him.

"What are you _standing_ there for? _Help me_!" Vexen snapped, narrowly avoiding being tackled to the ground by the replica.

Xigbar and Xaldin were too busy laughing, so, with a sigh, Zexion stepped forward and tripped the replica. "What happened?" Zexion asked, indicating the fallen Saix replica.

Vexen slumped into a chair to catch his breath. "You know that potion that just changed colors?" Seeing Zexion's nod, he continued. "Well...it exploded, and this replica was the result. One of Saix's hairs or something must have gotten into the potion...!!"

The Saix replica had managed to get up, and had thrown himself onto Vexen, hugging him, causing Xaldin and Xigbar to laugh harder.

The real Saix entered the room to see what all the noise was. He glanced around the room silently, before settling his gaze on Vexen and the Saix replica now hugging him.

"What is..._that_?" Saix asked, indicating the replica.

While Vexen tried to answer, Zexion began to smile. He motioned for Xaldin and Xigbar to come over, and both of them grinned at what Zexion was suggesting. Once Zexion finished explaining, the other two nodded in agreement.

Saix looked at Xaldin, who was staring at him in a strange way. Before Saix could question him, Xigbar jumped onto him from behind...

An hour and much fighting later...

Xigbar was sitting comfortably on a tied up Saix's back, while Zexion and Xaldin lay nearby, catching their breath. Saix could be _very_ nasty when cornered.

Xigbar prodded the struggling Saix, who wasn't able to speak because he was also gagged. Xigbar patted Saix's head sympathetically. "Don't worry, we'll untie you soon."

"Mpf! Umfufummpf! Mmmphunungh!" Saix snaled through the gag. He was trying to tell Xigbar that as soon as he was untied, the Freeshooter would be punished severely, and after that, Zexion and Xaldin. Especially Zexion. Sneaky little thing, tricking him while both Xaldin and Xigbar snuck up on him...

"Hey Xigbar!" Xaldin said suddenly.

"What?" Xigbar asked.

Xaldin sighed. "The replica is gone."

"Is he?" Xigbar said in suprise, turning his head to look for the replica, who was indeed gone. "Huh, when did he leave?"

Another sigh from Xaldin. "..."

Zexion left the room quickly, knowing that Saix wouldn't stand being tied up for much longer. As soon as he got ten feet away from the lab, yells from Xaldin and Xigbar could be heard, as well as psychotic laughter from a now freed Saix. Zexion hurried to find a safe place to hide, while grinning inwardly. It'd be interesting to see what Xemnas would think about two Saixs. Zexion glanced around. Where could that replica have gotten to?

----

Demyx and Roxas, along with Axel, were in the kitckens, pilfering food, hiding whenever anyone else entered the room.

All three were currently ducking beneath the counters, eating sea salt ice cream. Axel was having trouble eating his. At least Dusks had mouths, but their hands were hard to use to hold things.

Roxas paused in eating his. "Hey Axel, have you thought of anything?" After he had explained the situation to Demyx, the sitarist had asked Axel if he was going to do anything in retaliation. Axel had said he needed some time to think.

The Axel duck licked some of the sea-salt ice cream. "...I have a few things in mind...but they're kind of hard to do, since I'm a dusk and all..." He glanced up at Demyx and Roxas, who wore horrified expressions. "What is it...?" Axel asked, looking in the direction they were looking.

Saix was crouching behind Axel, looking at the sea-salt ice cream in confusion. "What's that?"

Axel moved over next to Roxas and Demyx. None of them said a word as Saix grabbed an extra sea-salt ice cream bar and began to eat it. His face lit up. "Mmm! This is _good_!"

The three others glanced at each other. What was wrong with Saix?

Roxas approached Saix cautiously. "Um...Siax...are you all right?"

Saix looked up from the ice cream bar. "I feel all right."

Roxas backed up, and huddled with Demyx and Axel. "There's something wrong with him. I thought he didn't _like_ sea-salt ice cream?"

"I thought so too..." Demyx added. Both he and Roxas looked at Axel when he let out what could have sounded like he was pleased.

"Axel?" Roxas asked.

"I have a great idea! We should get Saix here to go bother Xemnas, get him to think that Zexion gave him a potion or something, and Xemnas would most likely drag him off again." Axel explained excitedly.

Roxas looked uncertain. "Are you sure we should do that? Zexion just barely recovered from Xemnas beating him up the last time..."

Axel indicated himself with the bound hands. "Look at me! I need to do something big!"

Demyx and Roxas sighed. "..."

"All right then!" Axel said , in a much better mood now. He slunk over to Saix, who was almost done with the sea-salt ice cream. "Hey Saix, would you like to do something fun?"

Saix stared at the little Axel dusk. "Yes." He said after a moment.

If Axel could have smiled as a dusk, he would have. "Okay, here's what you need to do..." As Axel explained things to Saix (who happened to be the replica), he didn't notice that Zexion had been listening the whole time.

----

Zexion, after having heard Axel's plan, made his way up a few stair cases, thinking that it'd be smart to inform Xemnas of Axel's intentions. That way, if Xemnas thought to punish him, it probably wouldn't be too serious. Yes, that was what he'd do. Zexion went up a few more staircases, and saw Xemnas' room. Zexion took a deep breath, and headed for the door. He could do this...

Suddenly, Zexion found himself not moving forwards. In fact, he was walking in thin air. Zexion felt someone holding him by the hood of his coat. This was not good. Zexion began to panic even before he heard any voice.

"Where do you think you're going?" A soft, deadly calm voice asked. It was Saix (the real one).

Zexion began to squirm, trying in vain to get away. The grasp only tightened. This was_ not_ good at all.

"Xaldin and Xigbar are in my room, we just needed to find you, so that we could have some..._fun_." Saix said sinisterly.

Zexion didn't like the sound of Saix's voice. To him it held a promise of pain as soon as they got into the Luna Diviner's room. Zexion continued to struggle as Saix dragged him off, muttering incoherent things. Zexion felt a rush of relief when he realized that his coat was beginning to loosen, meaning that he could slip out of it and run as fast as he could.

The first thing Saix realized was that the cloak had lightened. He looked at it, and saw that Zexion had slipped out of the cloak and was now running. He was wearing black pants and boots, and wore a well-fitted tunic without sleeves. Saix dashed off in pursuit, but made sure not to yell. He didn't want to alert Xemnas. Saix kept his eyes locked on Zexion's retreating figure. He was going to _regret_ running.

----

Xemnas was still staring and reading the reports. Why had Xaldin written such a _long_ report? His room's door opened, but Xemnas didn't look up. "What is it?" He asked.

The Saix replica stared at Xemnas in silence. He wondered whether or not to do what Axel had told him. It just...didn't seem right. The replica considered Xemnas again. Well, Axel and the others _had_ promised him as many sea-salt ice cream bars he could eat, so...

Xemnas glanced up from his paper work to see who it was. Oh, it was Saix...but...he was giving him a wierd look. Xemnas set the paper aside, and looked up at the Saix replica. "What is it Saix?"

It was now or never. The replica decided. The sea-salt ice cream was calling to him. The replica walked around the desk, then threw himself onto a startled Xemnas.

"W..Wha...?" Xemnas stuttered. "Siax! What are you _doing_?" What in the world was _wrong_ with Saix? Xemnas broke free of the replica, and created a portal, not wanting to see what else Saix might do. He had a feeling that Zexion was behind this.

Axel, Roxas, and Demyx had watched what had happened. They entered Xemnas' room to congratulate the Saix replica.

----

In Saix's room...

Xigbar and Xaldin were tied up in chairs, and the room was eerily silent. Neither of them had spoken after Siax had brought them there and then left. They only started speaking once they both thought they heard something.

"Did you hear that?" Xigbar whispered.

"What?" Xaldin asked.

There was a slight crash.

Xigbar and Xaldin gave each other nevous glances. Was there something else in the room with them?

Xaldin glanced outside of the large windows. "Too bad it's raining...otherwise Kingdom Hearts would be out and we'd be able to see easier..." He broke off as he thought of what a cloudy sky could mean.

Xigbar voiced it first. "You realize, that since Kingdom Hearts is blocked by the clouds, that Saix will probably be a bit tipsy..."

Both nobodies fell silent as they tried to devise plans to escape before Saix got back and decided to possibly go berserk on them.

----

Zexion was gasping for breath as he ran, portaled and basically tried to hide as Saix pursued him. But whatever he tried didn't throw Saix off.

While the chasing was occuring, Demyx, Roxas, the dusk Axel, and the Saix replica watched the scene in confusion while consuming sea-salt ice cream.

"Isn't that Saix...?" Roxas asked.

Before anyone could reply, Saix summoned his claymore and began to chase a very exausted and stressed out Zexion.

"Yep, that's definatly Saix...but then who's he?" Roxas asked, indicating the Saix replica.

The Saix replica looked at Roxas. "I'm a replica." Was the answer, as if that had been obvious.

"What?!" Roxas, Demyx, and Axel exclaimed.

The replica licked the ice cream bar some more and didn't answer.

Roxas, Demyx, and Axel all looked away as Saix finally caught Zexion, dragging off the half-conscious Cloaked Schemer off towards his room.

Roxas and Demyx looked concerned, while the little Axel dusk was jumping around, pleased. Zexion would get punished now. Axel had seemed to forgotten that Xemnas was now probably trying to seek Zexion to question him about the replica, whom he thought was the real Saix.

---

Vexen had left the lab after Saix's scuffle with Xaldin and Xigbar, and was in another world, relaxing, not wanting to get blamed for anything (even though he had created the replica). He needed to keep some of his sanity in tact.

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Wow, that was like two chapters in one. Heh, anyway, please review and let me know how this turned out. Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Again, it's great motivation, and it's nice to know what other people think of the story.

I'll try to update as soon as possible, but it probably won't be for at least a week, possibly a little longer, since again, I'm going to be busy and won't be able to use a computer.

So, until then, thanks for reading and/or reviewing.


	14. Sea Salt Ice Cream Motivation

Thank you for the reviews! They're such great motivation! I wrote most of this chapter during school, then typed it up while drinking coffee when I was at home later in the day (and finished it this morning). I had to edit it, which is why it's out in the evening. This chapter was amusing for me to write for some reason...anyway...

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts (2).

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After Zexion had been dragged off by Saix, Roxas and Demyx were speaking quietly with one another. Niether of them had noticed that Axel and the Saix replica had slipped off.

After ten minutes of conversation, Demyx was the one who finally noticed their absence. "Roxas...Axel and that replica are gone..."

"What!" Roxas leapt to his feet. Grabbing one of Demyx's hands, he led the sitarist down the hall, soon breaking into a run.

Demyx stumbled along, trying to keep up with Roxas (who seemed to be running _way_ too fast). "Slow down Roxas! What's the matter?"

Roxas continued to run. "We have to find Axel, before he starts any trouble!" He refused to say another word as he dashed along the halls. He was trying to figure out where Axel could have gotten to. Roxas _really_ hoped that Axel was staying out of trouble and not doing something stupid. It was bad enough that he was still a dusk.

Demyx was managing to keep up with Roxas, marvelling that he could keep the same pace for so long.

---

In another part of the castle, Axel _was_ about to cause some trouble. He and the Saix replica had snuck into Marluxia's room, and were laughing silently as he mumbled in his sleep.

"Now what?" The replica whispered. Axel had promised more sea-salt ice cream if he helped with whatever the other was planning.

Axel indicated the sleeping Marluxia with a bound hand. "We're going to give him a wake up call. Remember what I told you?" Seeing the Saix's nod, Axel motioned for the replica to follow him. Both snuck over to Marluxia's bed, where Axel nodded to the other.

The Saix replica climbed onto Marluxia's bed, and lay down next to the sleeping Graceful Assassin.

Axel quickly slapped Marluxia across the face to wake him up, before backing off.

Marluxia awoke, a hand to his face, wondering what in the world had woken him up. He had been having such a nice dream...Marluxia sensed breathing nearby, so he turned over in bed to see what it was. Marluxia let out a horrified gasp upon seeing the replica. "Saix!" Marluxia scrambled out of bed, clad only in a silky shirt and flower patterned boxers.

The replica stretched out on the bed comfortably, grinning up at Marluxia. "Morning Marly. Did you sleep well?"

Marluxia attempted speaking several times, but nothing came out. After many failed attempts, Marluxia finally managed to speak. "What are you _doing_ in _my _room?"_ 'And why are you acting so wierd?'_ Marluxia thought.

The Saix replica stretched out some more, a grin on his face. "What? You don't remember last night?"

"What are you _talking_ about?" Marluxia asked, looking confused.

The replica placed a hand across his forehead. "I guess you can't remember...that's too bad..."

Marluxia stuttered an incoherent reply, as another voice spoke. "You slept with Saix. Got it memorized?"

Marluxia froze. Then, looking away from the replica, slowly turned to find a small, red colored dusk on the ground nearby. Marluxia calmly summoned his scythe, and took a few steps towards the Axel dusk. "Axel...what are you doing in my room?"

Axel would have liked to laugh, seeing as Marluxia looked ridiculous in his clothes...but the threat of getting his head sliced off from his body kept him from bursting into laughter. Axel slowly inched away, before throwing himself into the huge garden (which Marluxia was somehow able to keep in his room). The escape was short, however, since Axel got tangled up in some vines. They were_ holding_ onto him! Axel stuggled in panic as Marluxia approached him with a horrible smile on his face.

The dusk Axel _really _wanted to be able to use his weapons right about now. But, unable to, Axel let out a cry as Marluxia began to swing his scythe...

---

Roxas and Demyx had looked all over for Axel (and had stopped running now, much to Demyx's relief). Suddenly, an anguished cry erupted. Both Roxas and Demyx halted, watching as the dusk Axel came flying out of a portal, followed by a furious Marluxia and a concerned Saix replica.

Roxas buried his face against one of Demyx's shoulders, sighing. Why had Axel bothered Marluxia, of all people?

Axel managed to dodge another scythe swipe from Marluxia, laughing as he did.

----

A little while back, in Marluxia's room...

With Marluxia's swinging scythe almost decapitating him, Axel managed to torch several feet of plants, suprising both himself and Marluxia. At least it was effective in halting the Graceful Assassin's scythe, as he gaped in horror. Axel did_ not_ just burn his plants.

The dusk Axel was silent for a moment, before leaping around on the charred ground in joy. This must have meant that it wouldn't be long before he'd be back to normal.

While Axel danced around in joy, Marluxia was still trying to comprehend what had happened to his precious plants and flowers.

The Saix replica created a portal near Axel, after seeing Marluxia's expression upon noticing that the man-eating venus fly trap had been burned badly.

Axel barely had time to duck as the scythe came withing an inch or so of his head. After making sure that his head was still attatched, Axel hurried over to the portal as Marluxia pursued.

The replica watched as Marluxia punted the dusk Axel through the portal, then followed. The replica decided to go through the portal as well, wondering where he'd emerge.

----

Back to the present...

Axel cowered near Roxas, then both of them looked up at Demyx hopefully.

"What do you want _me_ to do?" Demyx asked, before noticing an oncoming Marluxia swinging a scythe. Demyx reacted quickly by summoning his sitar and drenching Marluxia thoroughly.

All that did was make Marluxia even angrier. Luckily, the Saix replica restrained him, allowing Roxas and Demyx to run off, with Roxas holding onto the dusk Axel tightly as they ran.

Marluxia freed himself, before glaring at Saix angrily.

The replica stared back, wondering if the Graceful Assassin knew where the sea-salt ice cream was.

Marluxia was about to yell at Saix, but faltered. The calm, cool look on Saix's expression was unnerving him. Marluxia ran off, deciding to go and check on his venus fly trap. "Hold on my precious venus! Daddy's coming to help you."

The replica watched in confusion as Marluxia ran off. The Saix replica pouted. Now how was he supposed to find the ice cream? Did Vexen know where it would be? The replica left to find Vexen, very sure that the Chilly Academic would know where the ice cream was.

----

Several halls later...

Demyx and Roxas had finally stopped running, and both of them were now glaring down at the Axel dusk in Roxas' arms.

"Why'd you go into Marluxia's room?" Roxas asked after awhile.

"I was just having some fun..." Axel muttered.

"Why was he trying to slice your head off?" Demyx asked.

"I burned some of his plants when he had me cornered." Axel said. "I _had_ been trying to summon my weapons..."

Roxas groaned. "You didn't kill _all_ of his plants, did you?" Any attack upon Marluxia's plants or flowers was like an attack on the Graceful Assassin himself. The difference was that only one could actually cause damage with the scythe.

"Only a few feet." Axel replied. "At least the replica helped me out of there before Marluxia could lop my head off. I had to make sure that it was still there."

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Demyx asked Roxas, referring to the replica.

"I'm sure that Marluxia only wants to punish Axel..." Roxas broke off, staring at Axel intently.

Axel shifted uncomfortably under Roxas' gaze. "?"

Roxas flipped Axel over so that he could see the back of his head. "Did you...notice that some of your hair is poking out?" He asked.

"Really?" Axel felt the back of his head with one of his bound hands. "I hope that this means that I'll be back to normal soon..."

"Maybe Zexion really didn't mean to get you with that potion..." Demyx decided to say.

"Maybe..." Axel responded, but was doubtful. Zexion would most likely have been bothering him now, but the real Saix had dragged him off to who knows where...

---

Meanwhile...

Zexion awoke with a quiet groan of pain. Wincing, he somehow managed to sit up, glancing around at his surroundings. They were...unfamiliar...where_ was_ he? Then Zexion remembered. He had been dragged off by Saix...but to where?

"Morning Zexion!" A voice called.

Zexion jumped, startled by the sudden noise. His head was throbbing as he turned to see who had spoken.

Xigbar and Xaldin were at the other end of the room (Zexion had just realized that it was Saix's room), who were bound and tied up to chairs. It was Xaldin who had spoken.

"Now that you're awake, untie us before he gets back!" Xigbar called across the room.

Zexion stood up shakily and walked over to the other two nobodies, halting when he was within feet of them. Maybe he should just leave them here for Saix...

"Don't start getting any ideas about leaving us here." Xigbar said cooly.

"It could be hazardous for your health." Xaldin answered.

Zexion sized the two up. Perhaps they could help him with getting back at Saix...

"What're you thinking?" Xigbar asked.

Zexion smiled pleasently. "I suppose I could untie you...if you agree to help me get back at Saix..."

Xigbar and Xaldin glanced at each other.

"Like a prank?" Xaldin asked.

"A large one." Zexion replied, still smiling.

"Can we include more targets than just Saix?" Xigbar asked eagerly.

"...Of course." Zexion replied, thinking to include the two people in front of him.

"Count us in then." Xigbar said cheerfully.

"Now please untie us." Xaldin added.

As soon as Zexion untied them, he found a lance pointed at his throat.

"Xigbar and myself are going to help, but not targets in this prank...right Zexion?" Xaldin asked, prodding Zexion with the lance.

Xigabr smiled at the Cloaked Schemer. "Because if you are, we could just leave you here for Saix to play with."

A shiver ran down Zexion's back, but he managed to speak. "I wasn't planning on it, all I wanted was some help..."

The lance disappeared, and Xaldin and Xigbar headed for Saix's door. "Well, come on then Zexy, unless you want to wait here for Xigbar to come back." Xigbar said casually over his shoulder.

Zexion limped as he caught up with the two others, too tired to tell Xigbar not to call him that. "Why wasn't Saix in his room?"

"Well, you passed out, so Saix said it wouldn't be any fun to punish someone who was unconscious..." Xaldin answered.

Another chill. Zexion took a deep breath. After this large prank, he'd get Xigbar and Xaldin when they were least expecting it. Yes, that sounded good to him.

"So Zexion, what were you thinking of doing?" Xigbar asked.

Zexion began to smile as he related his ideas to Xigbar and Xaldin.

----

Vexen breathed in deeply. He was on some sort of beach, and it was very peaceful. There was no one around for miles. Vexen had begun to drift off, when he sensed someone leaning over him...

Vexen opened his eyes and found him staring up at the Saix replica. "W..What?!" Was all he could manage to say before the replica hugged him tightly, and, sobbing, explained to him that the sea-salt ice cream was all gone.

Vexen tried to get away, but the replica wouldn't let go. How was he supposed to relax _now_?

"Vexen, do you have any ice cream?" The replica asked tearfully.

Vexen rolled his eyes. "Does it look like I have ice cream? Now let go of me!"

The Saix replicas released Vexen relunctently, wiping away the tears with his sleeve.

"Vexen! Saix! What are you doing?"

Vexen and the replica turned to see Xemnas striding towards them, looking angry. Vexen heaved a sigh. How was he going to explain this?

The Saix replica leaped to his feet and walked right up to Xemnas. "Where'd you put the sea-salt ice cream?" He demanded.

Xemnas stared at Vexen, giving him a 'what did you do to Saix?' look. Vexen sighed again. All he had wanted to do was relax... Vexen groaned as the replica tackled Xemnas, demanding ice cream. This was going to be a horrible day...

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Yay! I typed another chapter! Please review and let me know how this chapter turned out (or just leave some kind of comment so that I know people read the chapter. I'd really appreciate it). (I'm debating whether or not to give the chapters titles, since it _would_ be kind of fun to do...).

Axel _will_ get back to normal in the next chapter, after Zexion does the large prank with Xigbar and Xaldin.

I already know what one person's answer would be, but I'll ask anyway. I had been thinking about drawing Axel as a dusk and then posting it up on DeviantArt once I actually drew it and finished it. Is anyone else interested in me drawing this? Just a thought.

Anyway, thanks for reading and/or reviewing!


	15. Suprise of DOOM

Thank you for the reviews! I really appreciate it! I don't know where I thought of this chapter, but here it is.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts (2).

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Roxas, Demyx, and the Axel dusk were in a remote part of the castle, still hiding from Marluxia, who wanted to punish Axel for burning his plants. They were all silent as they listened for anything that remotely sounded like someone approaching them.

---

Saix was in Xemnas' room, reading through reports, since Xemnas had gone off to find where Vexen had gotten to (Saix had forgotten all about Xigbar, Xaldin, and Zexion). Saix frowned at one of the reports. Did going to Twilight Town and buying supplies for the castle count as a mission? It seemed more like a chore...

---

Xemnas looked from the suddenly demanding Saix replia, to Vexen. Xemnas held up a hand to stop the replica from asking him the same exact question again. "I do not have any Sea-Salt Ice cream Siax." Xemnas gave Vexen an annoyed look. "What did you do to him?" He watched as Vexen struggled to find an explanation. "...Never mind..." Xemnas grumbled, creating a portal and dragging the replica along with him.

"W...Wait!" Vexen stuttered, then followed before the portal closed.

---

Xemnas exited the portal, then did a double-take. Siax was sitting at his desk, reading through reports. But...Xemnas glanced at the Saix replica he was holding onto. "?"

Siax glanced up from the paper work, and furrowed his eyebrows. What was someone doing in here, looking exactly like him?

Vexen came out of the portal, where he was immediatly cornered by Xemnas. "What's going on here?"

Vexen looked away from Xemnas as he anwered. "Well, a potion I made had something go wrong with it..." Vexen glanced at the Saix replica. "This replica was the result of it..."

While Vexen had been explaining, Saix was beginning to get irritated. Why had a replica of _him_ been made, and not someone else?

The Saix replica went over to Vexen and poked him. "Where's the ice cream?"

Vexen grabbed the replica and led him out of the room quickly upon seeing the real Saix's expression.

Xemnas stood out of the way as Saix stormed out of the room after the two others. There was a bit of an uncomfortable silence, and then Xemnas spoke to no one in particular. "I think I'll go back to reading the reports..."

---

Zexion, Xaldin, and Xigbar met in the library once they had completed the perliminary phase one set-up of the prank they were going to unleash. Xigbar had jokingly called it 'The Big Suprise of Doom.' Since it amused the other two, (and it was difficult to get them to smile sometimes) Xigbar would only call it that.

"Are we ready for the next step?" Zexion asked.

Xigbar and Xaldin nodded.

"Then let's go. We'll meet in The Hall of Empty Melodies." Zexion responded. With that, he and the two other nobodies snuck off.

---

"Is someone coming?" Roxas asked Demyx, when the sitarist had made a small noise of suprise.

Demyx shook his head. "I'm not sure..."

"Hiding from Marluxia?" Came Zexion's voice.

The dusk Axel and the two others glanced up to see Zexion sitting calmly on the edge of a counter.

"What do you want?" Axel asked.

Zexion shrugged. "Well, I _was_ going to tell you a good hiding place, since Marluxia is headed this way. He seems to be in a very nasty mood...keeps chopping things in two..."

The words 'Marluxia' and 'chopping' seemed to stick with the three others, and they began to beg Zexion to tell them the hiding place. Zexion told it to them relunctantly, and watched as they dashed off. Zexion smirked. Axel as a dusk was very amusing...he should change back to normal any time now though.

---

Xaldin saw Saix running along the halls with his claymore out. Xaldin approached him, knowing that he could always use his lances to defend himself if need be...besides, Saix didn't _look_ as if he had gone berserk...yet... "Saix!" Xaldin called.

Saix halted in his tracks and glared over at the Whirlwind Lancer. "What?! I'm busy!"

"What are you doing?" Xaldin asked.

Saix calmed down slightly. "I'm looking for Vexen...and a replica he made."

Xaldin grinned inwardly. Zexion most likely had already spoken with Vexen. "Oh, I saw them headed for the Hall of Empty Melodies..." Xaldin watched Saix dash off again.

---

Xigbar entered Xemnas' room without bothering to knock. Ignoring Xemnas' scowl, he spoke. "I think that Zexion is up to something."

"What makes you think that?" Xemnas asked.

Xigbar shrugged. "Well, he was carrying stuff all over the castle, and was laughing as he did...seemed kind of suspicious if you ask me...:" Xigbar watched Xemnas get up and exit the room quickly. Xigbar portaled away, trying hard not to laugh before Xemnas was out of earshot.

---

In the Hall of Empty Melodies...

Zexion glanced at Xigbar and Xaldin, all three of them in hiding spots. They all grinned. The fun was about to begin.

Vexen and the Saix replica were already in the room, and both jumped as the real (and very furious) Saix suddenly appeared in the room. He pursued them several times around the room, until he managed to corner the two others...

Or until Zexion set off a trapwire.

Saix let out a surprised gasp as he suddenly found himself upside-down, dangling from a rope from the ceiling.

Zexion waved to Vexen, who, grinning, froze the floor beneath Saix, before freezing the rope holding the Luna Diviner. Vexen watched as the rope snapped and Saix dropped to the ground, getting knocked unconsciouss as he hit the floor.

Pleased, Vexen left the room with the Saix replica. He wanted to find some ice cream so that he could see if the replica had anything more intellegent to say (and see if it might be worth making more replicas).

Zexion, Xigbar, and Xaldin approached the knocked-out Saix. After tieing him up, they retreated out of the room for the moment.

---

In Luxord's room...

Lexaeus and Luxord were playing several different card games, while Demyx, sitting on a nearby chair, played his sitar (he had gotten seperated from Axel and Roxas).

---

Zexion and Xigbar trashed Marluxia's room, and, for the finishing touch, threw buckets of water all over the place, and put an enourmous, horrible-looking bow on the man-eating venus fly trap (which luckily for them seemed to be sleeping). They portaled out of the room just as Marluxia entered it to recooperate.

Marluxia stared at his wrecked room, then saw the bow. "DEMYX!!!" Marluxia stormed out of his room, summoning his scythe as he noticed an innocent-looking Demyx exit Luxord's room. Marluxia dashed after the sitarist, who began screaming bloody murder.

"HELP!! HELP!! MARLUXIA'S TRYING TO KILL ME!! SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!" Demyx yelled as he ran.

Zexion watched the scene with faint traces of amusement, before heading back to the Hall of Empty Melodies.

---

Xemnas prowled the halls, trying to figure out where everyone had gotten to. He entered the Hall of Empty Melodies, and saw a passed out and tied up Saix laying on the ground nearby. Xemnas approached him, wondering if he was all right, and if he was the real Saix or the replica.

Siax twitched, and before Xemnas could do anything, found himself knocked to the ground and pinned by Saix (who seemed to have somehow gotten untied). Upon noticing it was just Xemnas, Saix quickly moved away. Both of them stood up. "I thought you were someone else..." Saix murmured.

Before Xemnas could reply, Demyx came screaming into the room. "_What is wrong with you_?" Xemnas roared, effectively shutting Demyx up.

The sitarist dove behind Xemnas, grasped a handful of the others' cloak, and looked up at him pleadingly. "Marluxia's trying to _murder_ me! And I didn't even do anything wrong!" Marluxia entered the room at this moment, and made a beeline for Demyx, swining his scythe.

Demyx leapt up in fright, summoning his sitar and doing what he thought of first. Saix, Xemans, and Marluxia were totally drenched, which made Zexion (who was watching from a safe distance) almost laugh aloud.

Zexion motioned for Larxene to go and electrocute them (he had managed to persuade her, which the Cloaked Schemer found suprising).

Larxene, grinning evilly, jumped down to the lower level, and zapped the three other nobodies before they could react. After Larxene had finished, two more people entered the room.

It was Roxas, and Axel (who was finally back to normal).

Axel ran a hand through his hair, and glanced over at Roxas. "Should we watch, or join in on the fun?"

"Watch for now." Roxas responded. He had a bad feeling about all of this.

Above, Zexion, Xigbar, and Xaldin all exchanged grins. If the nobodies below thought they were done, they were sorely mistaken.

"Phase two of The Big Suprise of Doom?" Xigbar asked them.

"Indeed." Zexion replied with a smile.

Below, Xemnas, Saix, and Marluxia had all begun to chase poor Demyx around the Hall of Empty Melodies.

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Please review and let me know how this chapter turned out. I hope it didn't jump around too much. Any comments are grealy appreciated.

I'll try to update when I can, so until then, thanks for reading and/or reviewing!

(I'll get the picture up whenever I can actually get it drawn as a final copy. It might take awhile though).


	16. Suprise of DOOM aftermath

Thanks for the reviews! Sorry for the delay (I had two projects due yesterday). I needed to get those done( in good quality) otherwise my computer privileges would have been down for awhile. I'm supposed to get all homework that's due done first before typing, playing video games or any other liesure activities...I'll shut up now.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts (2).

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Unfortunatly for Demyx and those chasing him, Laxene decided to zap them again.

After having shocked them a second time, Larxene walked off towards an exit, only to find that it was locked. Larxene looked at it in confusion. Why on earth was the door locked? Wasn't it the one she had come in from? Behind her, Marluxia was the first one off the ground.

"What was that for?" Marluxia snarled, before dashing right for Larxene.

Larxene pretended to not hear him, before dodging out of the way. She smirked as Marluxia ran straight into the locked door, then ran off in another direction. Marluxia chased her once he had recovered from his meeting with the door.

Axel and Roxas, still on the sidelines, laughed as Larxene stayed just out of reach from the angry Marluxia.

Saix, Demyx, and Xemnas had managed to get off the floor, and onto some randomly placed chairs. None of them really paid attention to the spectacle going on around them.

Above, Zexion and Xigbar exchanged gleeful expressions. Phase two was about to begin. Zexion gave a slight wave to Xaldin, who used a portal to exit the the Hall of Empty Melodies.

Xaldin returned within minutes, accompanied by Luxord. Xaldin remianed behind with Zexion and Xigbar as Luxord got to the lower level to go and pester Axel and Roxas. Within a few moments, Luxord had convinced them to play a game, with no stakes involved.

Marluxia finally caught up with Larxene, and tripped her.

Larxene shot forwards with a suprised cry, tumbling into Luxord, Roxas, and Axel.

Xigabr quickly shot the floor near Roxas, who leapt up in fright and tackled Demyx in his nearby chair.

Xemnas rose from his chair to attempt to calm things down, only to be slammed into by Marluxia, who was trying to avoid being burned by Axel.

Saix slunk away from the fighting, thinking it was very trivial and would end soon. He didn't need to get involved. Someone could get...hurt. Saix glanced up in silence, frowning.

---

Xigbar, Xaldin, and Zexion watched the chaos below, laughing in amusement as Axel tried to protect Roxas from being sliced in half by Marluxia, who had summoned his scythe.

"Do you think Marluxia's going to get anyone injured?" Xigbar asked.

Xaldin watched Marluxia swing the scythe again. "Not if he keeps doing it that way."

Xigbar spoke again. "What do you think Zexy?"

"..."

Xigbar turned slightly so that he could see Zexion. "Well?" He fell silent, seeing that Zexion was staring at something, and was apparently unable to answer. Xigbar turned again to see what Zexion was staring at. He gave a nervous laugh.

Saix was standing near all three of them, frowning.

Xigbar quickly spoke, hoping Saix would fall for a ploy.

Saix's expression went from suspision to confusion as Xigbar spoke.

"You didn't hear yet, have you?" Xigbar asked sorrowfuly.

"About what?" Saix asked.

"That someone's been in your room..." Xigbar finished.

Saix gave all three one more look of suspision, before leaving the area via portal. As soon as he had gone, Zexion, Xaldin, and Xigbar quickly found a new hiding place.

"What did you to do his room?" Zexion questioned, as he watched Demyx bash someone over the head with his sitar.

Xigbar snickered. "Trashed the room a bit, and covered the windows with paint to block out the moon. I wouldn't get in his way when he gets back in here. You could be torn in half."

Zexion and Xaldin stared at Xigbar in suprise for a moment, before they started to laugh. They kept laughing as they saw what the others below were doing. It only lasted for a few minutes, because they shut up as soon as Saix entered the room. He was shaking, and glaring around the room. He looked about ready to snap.

All activity halted in the room. Everyone present watched Saix nervously, hoping that he'd calm down. But it was too late.

Saix summoned his claymore, then, with a yell, dashed towards Marluxia, Roxas and Axel (Xemnas, Luxord and Larxene had wisely gotten out of Saix's view).

While trying to decide the best way to calm down a berserk Saix, Xemnas heard laughter from above. Xemnas approached the upper level, putting the pieces of the puzzle together in his mind. He had been wondering where those three had gotten to.

Zexion, Xigbar, and Xaldin noticed Xemnas' approach.

"We should probably get out of here..." Zexion murmered. His statement was met with silence. Zexion turned, and noticed that Xigbar and Xaldin were gone.

"Zexion."

Zexion jumped and turned, flattening his back against a nearby wall as Xemnas cornered him. Zexion looked away, wondering if he'd have to take all the blame.

"Go to Vexen's lab, and stay there. I'll deal with you later." Xemnas said softly.

Zexion glanced at Xemans, surprised. He could hide then!

Xemnas had begun to walk away, but paused, glancing back over his shoulder. "Oh, and don't try and hide. There'll be worse punishments if you do."

Zexion sighed miserably, but used a portal to get to the lab. He settled down in a chair, watching as Vexen spoke with the Saix replica, who was enjoying a sea-salt ice cream cone. Zexion looked away. He'd get Xigbar and Xaldin back if he had to take all the blame and get punished. A slight smile appeared on Zexion's face as he thought about what he could do.

---

Back in the Hall of Empty Melodies...

Larxene, Luxord, and Demyx managed to prop up a few chairs to be used as barricades. As long as Saix didn't see them, he wouldn't attack.

Xemnas was unsuccessfully trying to calm Saix down. He had almost managed to do so, until Axel decided to send fire in Saix's general direction.

Saix went crazy again, and began to chase Xemnas instead of Axel, thinking Xemnas had been the one to attack him.

Axel and Roxas, out of danger, laughed as Saix attacked Xemnas angrily. Both however, looked away when Saix began brandishing the claymore again, slashing at Xemnas.

"That'll leave marks." Roxas stated.

Axel flinched at Xemnas' screams. "Should we stop him?"

Both ducked as Xemnas went flying overhead and into the makeshift barricade.

"No, we should get out of here." Axel answered, and dashed through a side door of the room.

Larxene and Marluxia followed almost immediatly.

Demyx and Luxord left as well, but were thoughful enough to help Xemnas out of the room.

Siax followed all of them out of the room, trying many times to corner one of them. Soon, no one was in sight, so Saix took to stalking the halls, waiting for someone to foolishly show themselves.

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Yep, the end of the chapter. Please review and let me know how this chapter turned out. Good? Bad? So-so? I'd appreciate any comments (I do know that this chapter was shorter. I'll try to make the next one longer).

I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up, but I'll get it up as soon as I'm able to.

So, until then, thanks for reading and/or reviewing!


	17. Avoidance

Thanks for the reviews! I'm updating today since I don't have any homework at the moment. I made this chapter longer than the last one. Part of it came up during school, and the other part was just very random and wierd (and probably a little bit creepy at times...maybe). Anyway...

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts (2).

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Zexion stared up at the lab's ceiling as Vexen continued to question the Saix replica (who was still eating sea-salt ice cream). Zexion was beginning to wonder when Xemnas would get to the lab. Maybe he forgot? Not likely...

"Zexion."

Zexion glanced up, to see Vexen over by the door. "Yes?"

"I need to get something. Watch him until I get back." Vexen indicated the replicas before leaving the lab.

Zexion sat up in the chair he was in, and watched as the Saix replica took a seat in a nearby chair. Neither spoke for a few minutes.

"What's wrong?" The replica asked suddenly.

Zexion was slightly surprised, but replied to the question. "Xemnas told me to come here and wait for him to get here. He probably wants to punish me for what happened in the Hall of Empty Melodies." Zexion paused, then added. "Xigbar and Xaldin were in on it too, but they managed to get away, so Xemnas only saw me. They won't get punished."

The replica was silent for a moment, before speaking up. "Do you need help? I don't mind helping anyone in this castle." He broke off, glancing at the popsicle stick remains of the ice cream. "As long as I can get some more sea-salt ice cream."

Zexion began to smile. "All right, I'm sure I could find some ice-cream." He and the Saix replica began to discuss ideas (though the replicas' thoughts kept wandering to the ice-cream).

---

Xemnas paced back and forth in his room, wincing from the injuries inflicted upon him by the breserk Saix (who could still be lurking in the hallway, waiting). Xemnas repressed a shudder. He didn't want to think about Saiix attacking again. Xemnas stopped suddenly as he remembered that he had been going to punish Zexion. Perhaps that would make him feel better. Xemnas went over to the door and peered out of his room cautiously.

After making sure that Saix wasn't anywhere near, Xemnas headed directly for Vexen's lab. He didn't know that a crazed Saix was shadowing his steps, a strange glint in his eyes.

Above, in some randomly placed rafters, Xigbar and Xaldin argued quietly with one another. They were trying to decide whether or not to warn Zexion of Xemnas' approach, or to warn Xemnas that a still somewhat berserk Saix was following him.

---

Zexion leapt out of the chair when the lab doors banged open, and Xemnas stormed in. Zexion backed away, noting that Xemnas seemed a bit beaten up. _'Did Saix attack him?' _ Zexion wondered.

Several times Xemnas attempted to corner Zexion, but the other kept avoiding him. Zexion_ really _didn't like how Xemnas hadn't said a word to him, and was just _staring_ at him. It was kind of disturbing...

Finally, after several uncomfortable minutes, Xemnas spoke. "_What_ did you think you were _doing_ in the hall?"

Zexion knew he couldn't deny being there. Xemnas had already seen him. "Xigbar and Xaldin helped too."

Xemnas laughed. "Right, sure." He glared at Zexion. "I have many possibilities for punishment..."

Zexion gulped, and made _very _sure that he stayed out of Xemnas' grasp. A few more minutes passed, and Xemnas suddenly lunged at the Cloaked Schemer. Zexion let out a shocked cry, but then breathed a sigh of relief almost immedeatly.

The Saix replica had grabbed Xemnas from behind, allowing Zexion to escape the area. The replica dropped Xemnas as soon as he saw the real Saix storm into the lab. The replica managed to get away unscathed, leaving Xemnas to deal with a maniacal Saix, who had begun to laugh evilly as he pursued Xemnas around.

Xemnas made a mental note to do something horrible to Zexion as soon as possible.

---

Zexion dashed along the hallway, but slowed a bit as the replica caught up with him. Zexion had noticed that Xigbar and Xaldin were somewhere nearby, so, after a quick murmur to the replica, he slowed. The Saix replica found the two others, and chased them away, pretending to go berserk. Zexion snickered slightly as he turned to continue on his way.

Zexion portaled to a lounge-like area of the castle, thiking that he was safe and had gotten away with what he had had happened. Zexion turned a corner of the room, thinking that he was very clever, only to bump into someone. Zexion started in surprise, and backed away, as he realized who he had bumped into.

Vexen. Who had a faint smile on his face. Who had the look of knowing something secret. Who wore an expression that meant Zexion was going to get a talking to, and that he was most likely going to regret what he had been doing the past few weeks. Not good at all.

Zexion attempted to look confused.

"So Zexion...I've been thinking...are you the one that's been causing all the trouble lately?" Vexen asked calmly.

Zexion adopted an innocent look. "Who? Me? Why would I?" Zexion fell silent at the look he was receiving from Vexen. It was the look that said that he wasn't buying Zexion's attempt at playing the victim. Zexion _really_ didn't like the horribly evil smile that had suddenly appeared on the Chilly Academic's face.

"Shall I go tell everyone that you've been the one causing trouble?" Vexen asked smoothly.

Zexion gave him an expression of disbelief. He wouldn't dare... Zexion shook his head several times, attempted to say something, but couldn't. Before Vexen could speak further to him, Zexion portaled away, to try and find a way to keep Vexen from spilling the beans.

Walking along another hall, Zexion visibly shuddered at what he thought Xemnas might do to him if he found out (especially about the time he had inturrupted one of his meetings). As Zexion walked, he thought about different possibilities about what could help him get out of this prediciment.

After many minutes of failed ideas, Zexion glanced up to find Larxene prowling the halls in his direction. A light bulb seemed to suddenly turn on. That was it! He had a sure-fire way to keep Vexen's mouth shut. Zexion just hoped that Vexen wouldn't murder him in his sleep later or something.

Taking a deep breath, Zexion approached Larexene and spoke quickly. "Would you do something for me so that Vexen won't tell the Superior something?"

Larxene stared at him silently. "..."

Zexion hoped that she wasn't thinking of electrocuting him.

"What would you want me to do?" Larxene asked.

Zexion was careful not to look her in the eyes. "Pretend that you're drunk and make out with Vexen." Had he just said that? That came out _very_ wrong.

Larxene stared at Zexion in horrified silence, before suddenly bursting into laughter. "Are you serious?"

"Yes."

Larxene gave Zexion a disgusted expression.

Desperate to find a way to keep Vexen queit, Zexion quickly spoke. "Or you could just hug him or somethnig. If he knows I saw, then I can use that as blackmail."

Larxene heaved a sigh. "Fine. But the only reason I'll do this is because it's blackmail." Larxene glared directly at Zexion. "_And_ as long as you never say I did this."

"Of course." There was no way he'd disagree with that. Zexion didn't want her trying to kill him too.

---

Vexen walked through the halls, trying to locate Zexion. Instead, he ran into Larxene first, who was swaying slightly. "Larxene...have you...seen Zexion?" Vexen asked uncertainly. He backed up a few steps as Larxene approached him, giggling. Vexen let out a surprised gasp as Larxene hugged him.

Vexen swallowed several times, distraught. "L...Larxene? Are you drunk again?"

Nearby, watching the scene, Zexion was on the ground, howling with laughter, which increased as Larxene kissed Vexen quickly, before swaying off, leaving behind a dumbfounded Vexen (who was wondering what the heck had just taken place).

Larxene passed Zexion, saying. "You owe me for this. I'll be washing my mouth out for weeks."

Zexion approached Vexen with a big grin.

Vexen blushed faintly, inwardly horrified that Zexion had witnessed all that. "Don't speak a word of that to anyone."

Zexion wore a smug expression now. "Then don't tell anyone that I've been the one causing trouble."

Vexen gave Zexion a very annoyed look, but relunctantly agreed.

(Unknown to Zexion, Larxene, and Vexen, Axel and Roxas had been watching as well, and had taken a few pictures. Though Axel hadn't heard what Vexen would threaten to say to Xemnas).

Zexion was about to walk away, when Larxene came back, giving Zexion a wicked smile. _She wouldn't..._

Larxene turned to Vexen. "I wasn't drunk." She indicated Zexion. "He told me to." _She did!_

Zexion left the area before Vexen could react. Unfortunatly for Zexion, he ran into the real Saix, who, still in a bad mood, dragged the Cloaked Schemer off for a beating.

"Help!" Zexion yelled several times, as Siax dragged him. No one came, and Zexion had to endure being thrown around for awhile. As Saix summoned his claymore, the Saix replica suddenly appeared, initiating a fight with the real Saix.

Zexion portaled away, only to find himself attacked by a very angry Marluxia. Zexion managed to avoid the scythe, and portaled away again. Once in a safe, quiet hallway, Zexion lay prone on the ground, too beaten up to do anything else.

A shadow fell over Zexion, and Zexion was able to identify the person. It was Vexen. Zexion instinctively curled up, expecting an attack. But it never came. A few moments went by, then Zexion passed out.

---

Vexen stared down at Zexion in silence. He decided to help Zexion, instead of letting Xemnas find him (who had been injured a bit by an insane Saix earlier). Vexen stooped down and picked Zexion up. He portaled away, muttering. "Why are you so heavy?"

Vexen reappeared in another lab (which was part bedroom, where he could go to relax and get away from the other organization members), and set Zexion down on a bed. Even Xemnas didn't know where this place was in the castle.

Vexen turned as someone portled into the room. "?"

It was the replica, who looked a bit beaten up.

"Stay here and watch him." Vexen said, pointing at Zexion, before portaling out of the room. He had to find Xemnas and convince him not to punish Zexion at the moment. _He _wanted to be able to at some point.

The Saix replica sat on a chair near the bed, eating a sea-salt ice cream cone. He glanced at Zexion's unconsciouss form, wondering if he was all right.

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I really don't know where this chapter came from, but anyway, please review and let me know what you thought of it or something. I'll try to update this when I can think of the next chapter.

So, until then, thanks for reading and/or reviewing! I appreciate it!


	18. The Superior Delivers Punishment

Thanks for the reviews, and sorry about the delay. It's not fun getting a lot of homework assignments. But now that I only have one to worry about, I'm updating this. I _was_ going to update earlier, but the homework made me feel depressed and not in the mood for typing. Anyway...

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts (2).

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Zexion awoke with a long yawn, glancing around sleepily. Where was he? What happened? Oh... Zexion shook his head and looked around the room he was in again. He saw that the Saix replica was sitting on a chair nearby, finishing off another sea-salt ice cream.

The replica noticed that Zexion was awake. "Are you all right?"

Zexion winced as he rubbed his head. "I guess so...how did I get here?"

"Vexen brought you here." Came the reply.

Zexion furrowed his visible eyebrown in confusion. Why wouldn't Vexen have punished him instead? Unless he was waiting to get him back when he was least expecting it...

---

Vexen was running along some random halway, avoiding angry attacks from a furious Xemnas. Trying to tell Xemnas to leave Zexion alone hadn't been the best idea, and now he was tryng to avoid being beaten instead. Vexen managed to portal away, hearing Xemnas yell several threats, each getting steadily worse and more horrifying.

---

Safely back in the hidden lab, Vexen found Zexion and the Saix replica conversing with one another. The replica was currently telling Zexion that he really wanted to visit Twilight Town sometime.

Zexion, without looking at the dishelved and weary Vexen, spoke. "What happened to you?"

Vexen sighed heavily. "Xemnas is angry, if you haven't noticed, and he's angry with _you_. I'm not going to repeat what he said he'd do to you if he found you..."

Zexion gave and nervous laugh and shifted uncomfortably in bed. What should he do now? He didn't want Xemnas to find him while he was still recovering.

The Replica had been silent, before he spoke tentativly. "Could Zexion go with me to Twilight Town? I don't want to go alone..." _'And I don't have any munny for Sea-salt ice cream.'_ He added in his mind.

Vexen stared at the replica silently, seeming to debate the request.

Zexion thought it was a good idea, since he'd be able to get out of the castle. He spoke suddenly. "That seems fine to me. Besides Vexen, you know how Xigbar and Xaldin were in on that prank too?" Zexion paused. When he saw that he had Vexen's attention, he continued. "Why don't you trick one of them into running into Xemnas? That way, Xemnas would take it out on one of them."

Vexen had started to smile. "So that you avoid being punished for something you did as well?"

Zexion smiled back. "I suppose, but also...I think you may want to..."

"Why?" Vexen asked.

"You know when you found all those potions messed up a few month ago?" Zexion asked. He smiled inwardly, since he had Vexen's full attention now. "It was Xaldin. He was experimenting on something, but it blew up instead."

Loud bangs began to sound on the door, accompanied by Xemnas' angry voice. "Open the door, NOW!"

Vexen sighed. He turned and said. "Fine, go to Twilight Town...I'll see what I can do about Xaldin..."

Zexion created a portal, which the Saix replica dashed through. Zexion paused as he called over his shoulder. "Don't even think about telling Xemnas about what I've been doing, or I'll tell everyone about what happened with Larxene..." Satisfied with the sound of Vexen's stutters, Zexion walked through the potal. As soon as it disappeared, Xemans came barging into the lab.

Vexen was very irritated, wondering how Xemnas had found the lab. He was completly ignoring Xemnas' furious yells and demands of where Zexion was.

---

A few hours later...

Zexion was resting on a bench in the Sandlot, watching the Saix replica easily beat any of the kids that bothered them (including an annoying one called Seifer, who seemed to think he owned the place).

After the replica beat Seifer, he and Zexion left the Sandlot, and went to buy some sea-salt ice cream. Since there were so many people around, the replica and Zexion retreated to the top of the clocktower, since no one was up there.

After many minutes of silence, the Saix replica spoke. "...Do you think that Vexen will be all right?"

Zexion was eating his ice cream slowly. He didn't want to get a brain freeze. "I'm sure that he'll be fine. Don't worry about it. Vexen can protect himeslf if he has to."

Meanwhile...

Vexen had frozen most of the lab, and was managing to bloack attacks from Xemnas with his shield. How could Xemnas be angry for this long? Vexen portaled away when Xemnas had halted to catch his breath.

After realizing that Vexen wasn't in the room anymore, Xemnas left the lab and began to prowl the halls. After calming down somewhat, he ordered Axel and Roxas to find Zexion. Once they were gone, Xemnas resumed his prowl.

Saix approached Xemnas silently, wondering why Xemnas was so angry. "Xemnas...I..."

Xemnas whirled around, eyes blazing. "Saix! Go help Axel and Roxas find Zexion!"

Saix looked surprised for a moment, before nodding in aknowledgment and portaling away.

Xemnas began to wander again, grinning evilly now as he thought of all the 'wonderful' things he could do to Zexion. His train of thought was lost when he overheard Xigbar and Xaldin laughing about what they had done with Zexion in the Hall of Empty Melodies, and how Xemnas would never find out that they had taken part in it.

Xigbar managed to teleport away, leaving Xaldin with a very furious and slightly psychotic Xemnas. With nowhere to run.

---

Zexion finished off his ice cream, before staring off at the continuing sunset.

"Enjoying the view Zexy?"

Zexion sighed. There was no mistaking that voice. It was Axel. Zexion turned around to face Axel and Roxas, who was also there. "What do you want?"

"Xemnas wants to talk with you." Axel answered, grinning.

Zexion laughed. "All he wants to do is punish me."

"For what?" Roxas asked.

Before Zexion could stop him, the replica spoke. "Xemans wants to punish him for what he, Xigabr and Xaldin did in the Hall of Empty Melodies."

There was a long, uncomfortable silence, before Axel dove at Zexion in rage. "It was you!"

Zexion scrambled backwards, but had forgotten that he was high up on a clocktower. He fell backwards, off the ledge, but into a portal that the Saix replica had created. The replica portaled away as well.

Zexion reappeared in front of the mansion gates of Twilight Town, and so did the replica seconds later. Zexion flopped on the ground wearily. Alll he wanted to do was curl up in some remote corner and recover.

Suddenly, the real Saix appeared in front of the gates, frowning. He cast a glance at the replica, who had moved closer to Zexion, then focused on Zexion himself. "Why were you avoiding Xemnas?"

Zexion took one look at Saix, before fainting. It was too much for him to handle.

Saix turned his attention to the replica, who tensed at the sudden attention. "I'd leave if I were you, unless you want me to put an end to your existence."

The Saix replica gulped at that, but didn't move. He didn't want to fight with Saix at the moment, but...

Fortunatly, Axel inturrupted. "Hey Saix! What are you doing here?"

Saix turned his attention to Axel for a moment, and when he looked back, the replica and Zexion were gone. Saix dashed after Axel with no explanation, and Axel just ran, not liking the gleaming, crazed expression in Saix's eyes.

---

Roxas was loitering outside in town, and gasped as Axel came running at him and grabbed one of his arms. He didn't even have the chance to ask Axel what was going on. Instead, Roxas had to keep up with the running red-head. However, one glance over his shoulder made Roxas run even faster. He didn't fancy feeling sharp claws slash him anytime soon.

---

Somewhere in the World That Never Was, crazed laughter and horrified yells could be heard as Xemnas unleashed a large amount of his fury.

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That seemed a bit random, but hey, I managed to update. Please review and let me know how the chapter went, or leave some kind of comment, I'd appreciate it.

Hmm, I was thinking about whether or not to give the Saix replica a name, since I kind of like him now. Like calling him Sai or Ias or something (mostly just taking the x off of Saix's name-it'd be faster to type). Just something I was thinking about.

I'll try to update as soon as I can, (depends on if I get any more homework or not). So, until then, thanks for reading and/or reviewing.


	19. Down Time plus Demyx Chasing

Thank you for the reviews! I really appreciate it. It's nice to know what people think of this story. And finally, I'm done with school. No more homework! So, I can update more often this summer. Haha! I typed a longer chapter!

Anyway, I like this chapter, it was amusing to type, but the last bit is a little weird, but still funny, so I think it turned out all right. Oh, and I called the Saix replica Sai, since that was the majority I saw, and it _is_ saying Saix's name without the X, which would probably annoy him.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts (2).

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Xemnas breathed a sigh of relief in his office/room. Whoever had been pulling all of the pranks had stopped, and the castle had gone back to normal for the past few months. Xemnas glanced at his desk, piled high with mission reports. He really needed to go through them. But...something was bothering him. It was as though he expected something to happen. And not just to anyone.

Xemnas had noticed that most of the pranks had been targeting other members of the organization. While he did get caught up in some of them, he had never been the main target. That concerned Xemnas greatly. The past two weeks especially bothered him, since it seemed like someone was following him wherever he went, even though Xemnas couldn't ever see or find anyone.

Xemnas shook his head and opened one of the reports. He was being too cautious, but he felt it necessary. Last week, he had forbidden anyone to go into his room, not even Saix. Xemnas had suspected that Saix's replica was still running around somewhere, and Xemnas refused to be fooled. He wouldn't let the real Saix near him, just in case the replica could be tricked into doing something. Xemnas half hoped that this would annoy Saix and get him to attack the replica.

Xemnas paused halfway through the report. But, if someone was planning on targeting him, wouldn't they have done that awhile ago?

Xemnas set aside the report and let out a laugh. Yes, that _had_ to be it. Whoever the prankster was, (most likely one of the organization members), they wouldn't dare go after the Superior, the leader of the group? Laughing again and feeling much better, Xemnas went for another report. There was no _way_ anyone was going to do anything to him. They wouldn't even dare. They knew what would happen.

---

In Zexion's room...

Zexion lay sprawled on hs bed, sifting through several pieces of paper as he waited for the Saix replica to come back from an errand. Zexion wrote a bit more, before looking back through his revised list he had written months before.

**Rewrite for pranks:**

Axel-_ Got him a lot, and him turning into a dusk was the best...I need to get him more though. What I've done to him does not compare to what he's done to me._

Demyx- _I think I've bothered him enough, but I may still involve him in some of the pranks I've planned..._

Roxas- _No comment at the moment, but if he's near any of my new ideas, he'll get it._

Marluxia- _I haven't seen him for awhile, but if he gets anywhere near me he'll regret it._

Xemnas- _Thinks he's safe from the pranks now, does he? Not after today, if Sai accomplished what I asked him to do._

Zexion stowed the piece of paper away into a dresser, as a knock sounded on his door. "It's open Sai."

The door opened, and the Saix replica, whom Zexion decided to call Sai, entered. "I locked the specific doors, and I set out those traps." He paused, then gave Zexion a hopeful look. "Do you have any ice cream?"

Zexion motioned over to a little portable refrigerator in the corner of his room. He had brought it there a few months ago, because for some reason, Sai was addicted to the ice cream, and seemed to show signs of going berserk like the original if he didn't get ice cream within a day or so. Because of this, Zexion kept the frige full of sea-salt ice cream, not wanting the replica to go berserk. At least, not for now.

Sai grinned happily as he began to eat an ice cream cone. It had taken him less than a half hour to set up all the traps Zexon had given him, as well as lock off some doors.

Zexion stretched and looked around his bedroom. The castle had been quiet for the past few months (with the exception of Axel, Roxas or Xigbar causing some minor disturbances). Zexion had allowed everyone to think that the pranks and things were over. And now, he was about ready to launch another.

This time he was targeting Xemnas fisrt. As long as everything went according to plan, Zexion wouldn't have to worry about being punished by Xemnas, at least for awhile. And if the outcome came out as planned, Zexion would be greatly amused, as would other organization members who happened to be around at the time.

Zexion walked towards the door when he noticed Sai was almost done with the ice cream. "Ready?" Zexion asked.

Sai walked toward the door ae well. Shouldering a length of rope, Sai nodded in agreement. "Ready."

---

Vexen was in his labratory working away busily. He had completed some experiments, and was getting information together to bring to Xemnas. After about an hour, Vexen finished and gathered the papers together, heading for the door. Vexen opened it, and the first thing he saw was Sai and Zexion walking along he hall. Sai was carrying some rope, and Zexion had an evil grin plastered on his face.

Once they had passed by, Vexen quickly withdrew into his lab. There was no _way_ he was going to leave the labratory now. Zexion was planning something, and he, Vexen, refused to be present and get caught up in something that wasn't his concern. Vexen set the stack of papers down, and decided to work on a few more experiments. It seemed like he'd have some time now.

---

Marluxia strolled along the hall, humming to himself. In his arms he cradled a potted plant which he was taking to his room. It was a mini man eating venus flytrap. He was going to put it in the opposite side of his room from the large venus fly trap, in case it didn't like the new one. As he walked, he spotted Zexion and Sai following him.

Marluxia picked up his pace and got to his room quickly. Once in his room, Marluxia picked a place for the new plant, before summoning his scythe. With his weapon in hand, Marluxia exited his room to confront Zexion and Sai. From the expressions he saw from before, he believed that he wsn't going to like what they were planning.

Marluxia looked around the hall in confusion. No one was there...Turning, Marluxia decided to go back into his room. He didn't notice someone behind him as they proceeded to knock him out.

Zexion and Sai stood over Marluxia's prone body. "Step one, complete." Zexion said in amusement.

---

In some random corner of the castle...

Demyx was running blindly, not really caring where he would end up, as long as it took him away from Larxene (who had been chasing him for some time, for some unknown reason). Demyx paused in the hallway mamentarily. Where should he go? Behind him came a seemingly innocent call.

" Oh Demyx...where are you...? I want to play..."

Demyx gulped, before seeing a portal open nearby. Demyx ran through it without a second thought. All that was on his mind was getting away from Larxene, and as fast as possible.

On the other side of the portal, Zexion and Sai were waiting.

---

A few hours later...

Xemnas was pacing around his room now, after he kept hearing voices speak. Although he wasn't too sure if he was really hearing anything. When Xemnas had almost calmed down, he heard the voices speaking again.

"Xemmnaaass...beware...beware the midnight hoursss..."

"Doom will come upon you..."

"oooooooooo...Xemnas...sooooooon..."

Then, there was silence.

Xemnas laughed nervously. He must be hearing things...come to think of it, he hadn't been getting much sleep lately. Yes, that was it. He must be sleep deprived. And the voices were just a figments of his imagination, of his very tired mind, playing tricks on him. Xemnas tried to go to sleep in his bed, attempting to ignore the voices.

Had he known that the voices belonged to Axel, Xigbar and Roxas, he would have leapt out of bed to locate them and punish them. But, too tired, Xemnas managed to fall asleep.

Axel, Xigbar and Roxas voiced their disappointment as they left the area.

"Too bad, he fell asleep."

"Should we go bother Luxord?"

"Yeah, why not?"

A few minutes passed, before someone entered the sleeping Xemnas' room. The pale lighting of the room revealed the intuder's evil smile.

---

Morning...

Zexion and Sai were drinking coffee in the kitchen, conversing.

Vexen entered the kitchen and got a cup of coffee as well. He sat down at the table as well, and stared hard at Zexion, trying to figure out how to best question the Cloaked Schemer.

Zexion noticed Vexen's presistant stare, and shifted uncomfortably. "What is it Vexen?"

Vexen continued to stare at him. "Have you taken some potions from my laboratory within the past few months?" Vexen caught the quick, guilty expression that passed over Zexion's face. Vexen sighed and took a sip of coffee. "Should I even bother asking what you've done with them?"

"...Would you like to know?" Zexion asked, after exchanging a glance with Sai.

"Yes." Vexen replied. That seemed too easy.

Zexion took a gulp of coffee, a smirk appearing on his face. "I used a potion on Marluxia, then used a potion on Demyx and Xemnas that prevents them from creating portals...for a day or so..."

"And what did the potion do to Marluxia?" Vexen asked.

Zexion's smirk increased. "It makes him like the two people he sees first...Sai and I put the three of them in a large, spacious area of the castle that makes it seem like a town...and we locked it."

Vexen shook his head. "I wouldn't like to be you when Xemnas gets out and finds out that it was your doing...and Sai's."

"What did you do Zexion?" Came Saix's calm voice.

Zexion choked on some coffee, before turning around and finding Saix looming over him, looking irritated. Zexion glaced to one side, to see Sai sneaking out of the kitchen. Zexion turned his attention back to the real Saix. He smiled nervously. "...Nothing..." Zexion gulped as Saix brought his face within inches of Zexion's. "Really? I could have sworn I heard that you did something to Xemnas and two others..."

"Y...You must be hearing things..." Zexion stammered. Being inches of Saix wasn't exactly pleasent, not when he kept thinking that Saix might bite him or something. Zexion saw that Saix didn't look convinced, so he quickly slid under the table and scrambled for the kitcen door. Zexion made it out after narrolwy missing being grabbed by Saix. Zexion ran after Sai as Saix pursued them both.

Vexen went back to his coffee, pretending that he hadn't seen anything unusual happen. There was no way he would get involved in this. Though...he _did_ wonder where Xemans, Marluxia and Demyx were...where was an enourmous room in the castle?

---

Somewhere in the castle, Xemnas awoke next to Demyx, who was giving him a terrified look. "What?" He asked.

Demyx attempted to speak, couldn't, and ended up pointing.

Xemnas glanced in the direction Demyx was pointing, and he held back a groan.

Across from where he and Demyx were, Marluxia was staring at them, wearing something akin to the pink dress he had been forced into months ago. Except that it was revealing more skin. But that wasn't what was scaring Demyx, or Xemnas, for that matter. It was the seductive grin that Marluxia was directing their way. "Hello boys."

Demyx clung to Xemnas, terrified to wits' end. Xemnas agreed with Demyx, but he wasn't about to cower. He spotted a door nearby, and ran to it, with Demyx latched onto one of his arms. Xemnas tried to open the door, but it was locked. Okay, that was fine...

Xemnas glanced over his shoulder to see Marluxia approaching them with the smile he didn't even want to attampt to classify. It had to be a potion making him act like this...Xemnas held forth a hand to open a portal...and found that he couldn't. Swearing silently, Xemnas tried a few more times. So did Demyx. Neither could manage to open one.

"Don't leave yet...I want to play..." Came Marluxia's creepy sing-song voice.

Xemnas and Demyx backed away from Marluxia, with both of them hoping it was just a very, very horrible nightmare that would end soon...if not...

"Agh! Xemnas! Don't let him touch me!" Came Demyx's horrified cry.

"Come over here...don't be shy..."

Somewhere in the castle, Zexion laughed evilly.  
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And, end chapter. So, what did you think of this? Good? Bad? So-so? Please review and let me know if you have anything to say about this chapter, or the story in general (or any comment you want, if you like).

I fear for Xemnas and Demyx' life. Heh. For the next chapter, I'm thinking about having either Axel or Roxas (or both) ending up in the room with Xemans and the others after having them being tricked into going in the room. So if you review, let me know which character. Otherwise I'll see what happens when I type the next chapter.

Anyway, I hope to update soon, so, until then, thanks for reading and/or reviewing. I am going to be putting a new story up soon, as well as update my other stories.


	20. Case of Missing Ice Cream

Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate it! I _am_ going to update this story more often, but I have to get the chapter typed up first. Oh, and if anyone else was wondering, I pronounce Sai like this (sigh). And Axel and Roxas will be put into the room.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts (2).

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Inside the kitchen…

"Sorry Roxas…all the sea-salt ice cream is gone." Axel informed Roxas.

Roxas' eyes widened and his mouth dropped open slightly. "B…but we can't be out! There was a lot of it just two days ago! We can't have finished the supply that fast."

Axel spotted Xigbar and Xaldin raiding the refrigerator, attempting to be secretive, but making a lot of noise in the process.

"Where did Xemnas hide it?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"..."

"Xemnas probably hid it because of what you did when you were drunk last time."

"...I was drunk? What did I do?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know...ever."

Axel nudged Roxas to pull him out of trying to figure out the ice cream dilemma. Axel walked over to Xigbar with Roxas trailing behind him, looking forlorn and withdrawn.

"Hey Xiggy!" Axel greeted cheerfully.

Xigbar eyed Axel in silence for a moment, before speaking. "What's up?"

Axel threw an arm around Roxas' shoulders, shaking his head mournfully. "This poor boy needs ice cream, but there isn't any left…"

Xigbar and Xaldin exchanged glances. "We've seen Zexion take a good amount of ice cream bars every month or so for awhile. Wonder what he needs it for. I thought he didn't even_ like_ it." Xigbar watched as Roxas dashed off, followed closely by Axel.

"What do you think Zexion does with all the ice cream?" Xigbar questioned.

Xaldin merely shrugged.

---

"Zexion?" Sai asked nervously, eyeing the large room that Marluxia, Demyx and Xemnas were locked inside.

Zexion was listening to the cries from within with a twisted, evil smile.

"Zexion?" Sai repeated.

"Hmm?" Zexion responded, still listening, evidently pleased with how things were turning out.

"What if someone finds out about this?" Sai asked.

Zexion shrugged. "It shouldn't happen. But if it does they'll think it's funny that Xemnas is the one getting pranked." Zexion paused, then frowned. "Sai…is everything in my room locked away?"

Saix glanced at a small piece of paper. "Yes…everything…except for the…" The replica drifted off.

Zexion glanced up at Sai, who was looking horrified. "What's wrong?"

"I forgot to lock the fridge." Sai said. He looked worriedly at Zexion. "Can you tell if anyone is in your room?"

Zexion was silent for a moment, doubting that anyone would dare enter his room. There was a long pause, then Zexion looked enraged. "Axel and Roxas?! How did they…oh, never mind."

Sai immediately made a portal to go and rescue the sea-salt ice cream, but Zexion caught hold of one of his arms. Sai gave Zexion a questioning look.

Zexion, however, was smiling faintly. "Why don't you bring them down here?"

Sai caught on, exchanging a smile as well. He left through the portal after Zexion had let go of him.

"Zexion."

Zexion turned around, and found Vexen standing a few paces away from him. "What is it?"

Vexen was smiling slightly. "What else do the potions do?"

"I already told you what they've done." Zexion responded. Seeing Vexen's disapproving glare, Zexion sighed heavily. "Just wait a moment. Sai's going to bring Roxas and Axel soon."

"Sai? The Saix replica? You gave him a name?" Vexen sounded amused.

"Why not?" Zexion countered, before leaning against the wall. "Just be patient. I'll tell you once Axel and Roxas are in this room as well."

---

"Axel...do you really think it's a good idea to be in here? Won't Zexion be able to figure out we're here?" Roxas asked nervously as he and Axel searched Zexion's room for sea-salt ice cream.

"It's fine. Even if Zexion _doe_s find out, what is he going to do? The worst he could do is smack us over the heads with that book of his." Axel said, currently looking under Zexion's bed for some unknown reason.

"A very thick book, which could probably cause a concussion." Roxas muttered as he wandered over to the far side of Zexion's room. It was about then that he noticed the mini refrigerator. "Axel!"

Axel pulled out from beneath the bed, holding onto a few small boxs that were labeled 'DANGEROUS, be extremely careful when handling.' "What is it?" Axel asked.

"There's sea-salt ice cream in here!" Roxas exclaimed joyfully.

Axel was about to stand up when a thin piece of paper fell from between one of the small boxes. Axel picked it up, smoothed it out, and read.

_'Zexion-_

_These three boxes contain one of my latest experiments. I'd like for you to take a look at them, but keep them hidden for now. I would have just kept them in a laboratory, but I don't want fools like Axel messing around with experiments that could be potentially dangerous...'_

Axel broke off reading for a moment. "A fool?" Axel murmured in amusement. He ignored Roxas' enjoying the ice cream and continued to read.

_'I don't know exactly what would happen, but I'm sure that it wouldn't be pleasent. To avoid anything to set the boxes contents off, I've included a quick summary of things not to do with it while examining it. Other than these things, anything else should be fine.'_

Axel started to grin evilly. "Hey, Roxas, come over here!"

A moment later, Roxas sat down next to Axel, offering a sea-salt ice cream. After Axel took it, Roxas took his own ice cream out of his mouth long enough to speak. "What is it?"

Still grinning, Axel showed Roxas the piece of paper, and pointed out the dangers. Both of them then read the final lines.

_'That's all for now. Get results whenever you are able._

_-Vexen_

_P.S.- Remember to keep these away from Axel and anyone else too stupid to handle dangerous material.'_

Axel shook his head as he pocketed the piece of paper and took a lick of the ice cream. "Vexen isn't too polite, is he?" He flashed another grin at Roxas, then showed the three small, thin boxes to Roxas. "I think we should have some fun, don't you?"

Roxas finished his ice cream and shrugged. "I suppose, since there's nothing else to do...but..."

"But what?" Axel questioned as he pocketed the boxes.

"Oh, nevermind, it was..." Roxas broke off again, looking horrified all of a sudden. His mouth opened and closed several times, but no sound came out.

"Roxas? Earth to Roxas? Is anyone home?' Axel asked, waving a hand in front of Roxas' face.

The boy didn't move, and was looking close to fainting.

Axel glanced over his shoulder finally to see what Roxas was staring at. He gulped, then laughed nervously. A very angry-looking Sai was glaring at both of them. "H...hey Saix...um...hehheh...what are you doing in here?" Axel scrambled away as Sai made a swipe at him. Roxas didn't move a muscle.

Axel turned around to see Sai grabbing Roxas and walking through a portal. Axel followed quickly, yelling. "I'll save you Roxas!"

---

Xemnas was getting fed up with Marluxia chasing him and Demyx. Several times he had tried to tell Marluxia off, but the scythe weilding nobody didn't seem to care. The situation was making him angrier by the second, and it didn't help to have Demyx clinging to his arm...or leg, which Demyx was currently holding onto. "Demyx, get off!" Xemnas hissed in annoyance, as Marluxia approached them.

Demyx, amazingly, let go.

Xemans backed away from both of the others, for some reason he was getting a bad feeling about all this. Seconds later, the feeling was confirmed.

Demyx took one look at Xemnas, paled, then screamed very loudly, before scrambling over to Marluxia and cowering behind him.

Both Marluxia and Xemnas were giving him a look as if he were insane.

At that moment, however, Xemnas ran across the room, clutching what looked like a vial. The only reason he had it with him was because in the past few days, he had begun to think people were going to poison him or something. The vial he had could supposedly negate any allignment. And Xemnas was going to use it on Marluxia.

---

Outside the room...

"C'mon Saix, it was just a joke!"

"Please don't kill me!"

Zexion turned to see Sai come out of a portal, holding onto Axel and Roxas, who were pleading. A faint smile found its way onto Zexion's face, and he said. "Good job Sai."

Axel and Roxas immediatly fell silent. Both glanced at the replica, then looked at Zexion.

"Sai?" Roxas questioned.

Zeion indicated the replica. "His name. He's not the real Saix." Zexion planced both hands on the door. "Ready?" He asked. At Sai's nod, Zexion wrenched the door open, and Sai tossed both Axel and Roxas into the room. Zexion relocked the doors quickly. "You made it so they can't use portals?"

"Yes." Sai responded.

"What else do the potions do?"

Zexion turned to Vexen, who had been standing there silently up until now. The Cloaked Schemer smiled evilly. "Demyx's potion will make him believe that everyone except Marluxia is a monster."

"Hmm." Vexen looked at the door in silence.

"Zexion?" The replica asked.

"Yes?" Zexion said, turning around. He and Vexen eyed Sai in silence.

Sai withdrew a tiny box from his pocket and showed it to the other two. Seeming to ignore the horrified expressions on their faces, he said. "Axel has these with him..."

Vexen snatched the box out of Sai's grasp and pocketed it quickly. "How many boxes does Axel have?"

Sai seemed to catch Vexen's nervousness. "Two of them. Why? What does it do?" He fell silent as Vexen and Zexion began a quiet argument about how Axel could have gotten his hands on the boxes.

---

Back inside the room...

Xemnas and Marluxia watched as Axel and Roxas were flung into the room. Demyx was too busy cowering to notice.

Marluxia was happy. "Yay, more cuties to play with!" He clapped his hands together gleefully.

Roxas his behind Axel, both of them looking mortified, both at what Marluxia said, and what he was dressed like. Both of them edged over to Xemnas, who was looking irritated.

Demyx had been silent, but when he glanced up, he noticed Roxas and Axel standing next to Xemnas. He let out another scream. "MONSTERS!!"

There was a very long silence, before...

"I'll protect you!" Marluxia suddenly announced, summoning his scythe and dashing at the three others.

Xemnas forced the vial into Roxas' hands.

"What is this for?!" Roxas exclaimed.

"You're going to make Marluxia drink it." Xemnas snapped, summoning his weapons in time to block Marluxia's attack.

"B...But..." Roxas stammered as Axel blocked another attack.

"C'mon Roxas. You don't want him hugging you or something, do you?" Axel questioned, as he sent one of his chakrams flying at Marluxia.

Roxas gulped at the idea of Marluxia hugging him while wearing the very disturbingly pink dress. Roxas snuck around, trying to keep behind Marluxia.

After a few minutes of struggling, Xemans and Axel managed to pin Marluxia against a wall.

"Hurry Roxas!" Axel called over his shoulder.

Roxas came over and managed to get Marluxia to drink from the vial.

Marluxia let out a muffled groan, before dropping to the ground. A few seconds passed, before he sat up and shook his head, looking around. He focused on Xemnas, Roxas, and Axel, who were eyeing him in silence. Rubbing his head, Marluxia spoke. "What happened? Why are you staring at...!" Marluxia broke off, looking at what he was wearing in mounting horror. "What the? Why am I in a dress?"

"Someone gave you a potion." Xemnas stated.

Marluxia was looking extremely embarresed, but then frowned. He gritted his teeth. "I'm going to kill whoever did this to me."

"Agrh! Stay away monsters!" Demyx yelled from across the room, waving his hands as if he could keep them all away.

"What's wrong with _him_?" Marluxia asked. No one answered.

---

Vexen shook his head, then smiled wryly. "Is that all? Make Demyx hallucinate?"

Zexion shook his head. "No...but hopefully the boxes and whatever's in them are waterproof..."

---

"Uh-oh." Roxas said as Demyx summoned his sitar.

"You don't think he'll flood the place...do you?" Axel asked nervously.

"DIE MONSTERS...DIE!!" Demyx yelled as he played a few notes, soaking the four others in the room.

"Yes, he would." Xemnas grumbled. Why was today horrible? What did he do to deserve this?

Within a few minutes, the water was up to their waists, and, in Roxas' case, chest.

The only people who didn't seem to mind the water were Demyx and Marluxia, who was floating in the water. But in reality, Marluxia was plotting very horrible ways in which he could murder the person who did all this to him.

Xemnas was about to suggest that Roxas and Axel try to calm Demyx down, when Demyx came over and wacked Xemnas over the head. Xemnas winced, but grabbed a hold of Demyx. Which was a bad idea.

"Argh! Bad monster! Let go!" Demyx yelped, trying to shake Xemnas off of him.

Axel and Roxas exchanged glances, then quickly discussed whether or not to use the boxes.

Meanwhile, the room continued to fill with water.

---

Outside the room, Zexion was rolling around on the ground, roaring with laughter. It was just too funny, imagining what was going on inside the room.

Vexen was shaking his head in a disapproving way.

Sai didn't know whether to be amused or not.

Behind all three, the real Siax, along with Xigbar and Larxene, were wondering what the hell was going on.

Zexion's laughter died away as he was pulled upright by his hood, and brought face to face with Saix. He gulped, wondering whether or not he'd actually get away with this now.

"Zexion...where is Xemnas?" Saix asked calmly, though in a voice that promised extreme pain.

Zexion gulped again. What was he going to do now?

Calls for help could soon be heard from within the room, along with splashes.

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And, end of chapter. So, what did you think? Please review and let me know how this chapter went. Or leave any comment you'd like. Also, if anyone else has any questions or suggestions about this story, either tell me in a review or PM me. I'll try to update as soon as possible.

So, until then, thanks for reading and/or reviewing!


	21. Angry Lunar and Sitarist

Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate it. I finally got the next chapter up (I had a bit of a writer's block for this). Can't think of anything else to say at the moment, other than that I will try to have Lexaeus, Luxord and Larxene more often in the next few chapters.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts (2).

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Zexion's mind was racing, trying to figure out how to get away from an obviously enraged Saix. Only a few possibilities seemed reasonable to the Cloaked Schemer, and he decided that telling the truth (most of it) would be a good thing at the moment. Zexion wriggled out of Saix's grasp, and backed up against the door. Composing himself, he stared up at Saix.

"Xemnas, Marluxia, Axel, and Roxas are in the room, and Demyx apparently thinks they're all monsters, and is trying to drown them to get rid of them." Zexion told the Luna Diviner, straight-faced.

Saix stared at Zexion in silence, as Xigbar and Larxene snickered.

"Well...I think Axel and Roxas deserve it...they _were_ trying to sneak into my room and set up some pranks to wake me up." Larxene fell silent and grinned as she heard the cries coming from inside the room.

"Why is Demyx acting strangely?" Xigbar asked.

Zexion shrugged. "He probably drank a potion that may have looked like a beverage. That wouldn't surprise me."

Vexen stared at Zexion in silent amazement. Zexion was saying all those lies so smoothly. Vexen glanced at Saix, who seemed to be considering Zexion's explanations.

"Hmm..." Siax broke off, noticing the Saix replica standing next to Vexen. He narrowed his eyes. "Why haven't you gotten rid of that replica yet?"

Sai backed away a few steps. He didn't like the expression on the other's face. When Saix moved towards him, Sai bolted off in the opposite direction. Saix summoned his claymore to give chase.

There was a long silence, then...

"Hey Zexion. I want to see what's going on in there." Larxene said suddenly

"Sure...but, you don't want to go through this door, since it seems that Demyx_ is_ flooding the place." Zexion replied.

"Then we can get there through the library." Larxene responded, and ran off in the direction of the library.

Zexion and Vexen followed after her. Zexion sighed, then glanced around. _'Xigbar's gone...must have teleported or something. _ _Wait a minute. Larxene said the library...'_

_---_

Lexaeus was having a relaxing morning. After having gotten some coffee from the kitchen, he had headed up to the library for some peace and quiet. For the next few hours, he read a book. After a certain amount of time had passed, he started to hear what sounded like cries for help.

Lexaeus furrowed his eyebrows. Where was it coming from? It wasn't from the library...Lexaeus shook his head. He must be a little bit tired. He was probably just hearing things. He went back to his book, after having not located the source of the sounds. A few minutes went by before fresh cries for help began to invade his mind.

Lexaeus set down his book and glanced around gain. There it was...again. He couldn't be hearing things...Sighing, Leaxeus put down the book and got up. After a thorough investigation, Lexaeus stood before a plain wall. The voices seemed to be originating behind it. But how was that possible? It was just a wall...unless...

Lexaeus placed a hand against the wall, and gave it an experimental shove. To his surprise, a door opened, leading into another room. He blinked in surprise. That was...unexpected...he should remember where this room was for future reference. It would be a good place to go when Axel or Roxas decided to pull pranks.

Now that the door was open, Lexaeus could hear the voices a little more clearly, and one of them seemed to belong to Xemnas. _'What's Xemnas doing in this room? Unless it's one of the rooms that he only knows about...'_

Lexaeus entered the room to find out that it was a two level room. He walked over to the balcony and glanced over it. He stared.

Xemnas wasn't the only one in the room.

Axel and Roxas were on one side of the room, arguing. Axel was holding something in his hands, and was apparently trying to convince Roxas about something. Marluxia was on the opposite side of the room with his scythe out and looking absolutely murderous. And Xemnas was in the middle of the room, trying to fend of Demyx, who was pounding him continuously with the sitar. The sitarist was yelling something about destroying all the monsters, and that he'd save Organization XIII by eliminating these beasts.

Lexaues glanced up, and saw Xigbar hanging upside down and laughing. Lexaeus shook his head. This wouldn't seem _too _out of the ordinary, except for the fact that the room was being flooded, and that the water level was still rising.

---

Sai dashed along the hall, thinking about hiding out in Zexion's room until Saix calmed down. But Sai couldn't throw off Saix, who seemed intent on slicing him in two. Sai turned another corner, and threw himself into Zexion's room as Saix took a swing at him. Which missed it's mark. But then why was there a loud thunk? Sai glanced up and his expression changed to horror as he saw what Saix's claymore had hit. The mini refrigerator. _'Noooooo!'_ Sai screamed inside his head. Saix killed the fridge, which in turn would ruin all those delicious sea salt ice creams.

Saix tugged at his claymore until it came free. Stupid replica dodging like that. Saix turned around to face the replica. It was a chicken, since it was running away from a fight. Saix would put an end to its misery. What Saix hadn't been expecting was the replica dashing at him with a claymore of its own. Saix was blasted backwards into the hall as the replica roared. "YOU KILLED THE SEA SALT ICE CREAM!!!! YOU WILL PAY!!!"

Saix got to his feet in time to dodge another attack from his replica. The Luna Diviner noticed that the replica had apparently gone berserk, and that his eyes were glowing an eerie yellow. Saix blocked another attack. _'Do I look like that when I go berserk?_ _...He got mad over sea salt ice cream?'_ Saix leapt away, and he and the replica fought there way along the hallway, ignoring stares they received from Luxord, who happened to be passing by.

When the two were out of sight, Luxord shuffled a deck of cards. "...I didn't know there were two Saixs'. I wonder if that was one of the experiments that went wrong a few months ago." Shrugging, Luxord wandered off to try and find someone to play poker with.

---

Lexaeus turned around when he heard other people entered the room from behind him. It was Larxene, Zexion and Vexen.

"Oh, hey Lexaeus. What are you doing in here?" Larxene asked.

"I heard calls for help, so I investigated." Lexaeus replied. He turned his attention to Zexion and Vexen. "What is going on down there?"

Seeing that Vexen wasn't going to say anything, Zexion looked up at Lexaeus. Hoping that the other wouldn't be suspicious, Zexion said, "Demyx apparently thinks everyone is a monster and is trying to drown them."

Lexaeus looked at Zexion suspiciously, but he and the others on the upper floor jumped as Demyx yelled, "DIE!!"

Xigbar, hanging upside down, was still laughing, but it had died down quite a bit. He was actually starting to look concerned. Or it could just look that way, since he wasn't right side up.

Zexion stayed back from everyone, deciding whether or not he should run away. He decided to stay, since it would be suspicious if he left the scene. And Vexen knew that it was his doing. Zexion held back a frustrated sigh, then grinned inwardly. He had found out what one of the boxes would do, so there was a 50 percent chance that Axel might be foolish enough to open it. Oh, that would be_ funny_.

Vexen, unfortunately, noticed a the change from Zexion, and asked, "What do the boxes do?"

"Oh, well...they..." Zexion began. A terrified yelp caught his attention, as well as the others in the room.

Demyx had gotten away from beating on Xemnas and was headed towards Roxas and Axel.

"I don't want to get hit by the sitar!" Roxas yelled, frantically swimming in the opposite direction of Demyx (the water was too high for him to stand anymore).

"Leave him alone Demyx!" Axel exclaimed, chucking one of the thin boxes at Demyx.

At first, nothing happened, but then there was a huge flash, and a gust of wind which knocked everyone down. Once the flash was gone, the situation was taken in.

Axel was the first to speak after looking around. "That didn't do anything Vexen? What were you thinking?"

Vexen looked and was extremely offended. "Of course it does something!"

Axel spread his arms out and indicated the area. "What then Vexen? I don't see anything out of the ordinary. Unless it created a sea monster..."

Axel broke off as a freaked-out Roxas clambered onto him in an attempt to get out of the water. "Don't let it eat me!" Axel swayed around in the water, shaking and attempting to get Roxas down from his shoulders. "I was just kidding!"

Xemnas and Marluxia exchanged glances, then both looked up to see Xigbar laughing at them. Xemnas shook a fist at him. "Quit laughing you fool, and help!"

Xigbar pouted, but complied. Soon, a dripping wet Xemnas was glaring at Larxene, Zexion, Lexaeus and Vexen. Marluxia followed shortly after, still looking murderous.

"Hey! Don't forget about us!" Axel called up to the Freeshooter.

Axel and Roxas were up on the balcony in a matter of seconds.

All that was left on the lower level was an extremely dazed and confused Demyx, who had dismissed his sitar. He glanced up at nearly all of the organization members. "What's going on...and...why is this place flooded? Did I do that?"

"It seems that he's back to normal." Vexen commented. He gave Xigbar a sideways glance. "You should bring him up here as well."

While Xigbar went to get Demyx, everyone present, minus Vexen and Zexion, were trying to figure out what happened.

Except, Zexion noticed, Axel and Roxas, both of whom were looking at him suspiciously. Zexion began to panic when Axel began to make his way over to Xemans with an evil smirk.

Luck was with Zexion, when there was suddenly loud laughter and a horrified cry. Xigbar and Demyx.

Everyone present turned around as Xigbar brought Demyx up, who cowered behind him, blushing in embarrassment.

The good thing, Zexion noticed, was that Axel's attention had been mostly taken away from him to focus on the other.

"What's wrong?" Xemnas asked.

Xigbar had managed to control his laughter as he spoke. "Well Vexen...it seems that whatever was in that box _did_ work."

Vexen looked suddenly intrigued. "Really, why do you say that? Demyx looks fine to me."

Xigbar pulled Demyx forward and turned him around.

There was another long pause of silence, then laughter. The box that Axel had thrown at Demyx had caused the sitarist to suddenly grow a thin, pale blue, four foot long tail.

Demyx was blushing even deeper now, but was looking on the verge of tears. Why did things like this happen to him? He always tried very hard to stay away from Vexen's laboratory, but experiments always seemed to find their way to him.

Zexion kind of felt bad, but, he considered, Axel had been the one to steal the boxes and use them.

Axel came forward and patted Demyx on the shoulder. "Sorry Dem, but you _were_ trying to brain Roxas with your sitar...and I can't exactly use my chakrams in here...too wet."

Dmeyx managed a slight smile, before sighing miserably. Then began experimenting with the tail. It was...kind of fun. He looked at Vexen. "Is there...a way to get rid of it?" Demyx sure hoped so.

Vexen was silent a moment. "Well...I could find a way to reverse the effect, but that would probably take a few months. Otherwise, we could always surgically remove it..." He drifted off at several snickers. "What?" He snapped irritably. "I was just listing the options." He turned his attention to Demyx, who suddenly looked as if he had been asked to go swim with several bloodthirsty sharks. "Well?"

Demyx twitched, seeming to have thought of something unpleasant, and replied, "I'd...rather see if you could find a way to reverse the effect." Demyx glanced at the tail. "It isn't too bad."

"All right...if you don't mind waiting awhile..." Vexen left the room, but came back almost immediately. "Saix and the Saix replica are fighting. Should we stop them?"

Zexion dashed past Vexen, followed closely by Xemnas.

Axel stared after them for a moment, before grabbing Roxas by the arm and running too.

"A...Axel. What are you doing?!" Roxas exclaimed.

"Zexion was the one who had the replica throw us in that room, so he must have been the one that planned that and used the potions." Axel explained as he ran.

"Oh." Roxas managed to say.

---

Saix was shocked. How was the replica beating _him_? He dodged another furious attack, and found himself trapped in a corner. Two claymores met, and both Saix and Sai were increasing pressure on the blades.

"Sai! Over here! Look!" Called Zexion.

Sai pulled away from Saix, and calmed immediately upon seeing a sea-salt ice cream.

Saix watched in amazement as the replica began eating the ice cream, looking all calm and innocent. Saix shook his head, before collapsing onto the ground in a weary heap. Why did the replica still have so much energy? Saix closed his eyes. Or maybe he was just tired from the missions he had been doing.

Xemnas glanced at the downed Saix, then over to Sai and Zexion. Okay...why were there two Saixs'? Oh, one was a replica, that was right.

"Axel, Roxas. Take Saix to his room. Now." Xemnas ordered, giving no room for arguments.

Axel and Roxas took Saix away, but Zexion gulped when he heard Axel mutter, "Just you wait." Under his breath as he passed. Maybe he'd be safer in Vexen's laboratory...

Behind Zexion, Demyx was making the tail swish back and forth, but in doing so accidentally whipped Marluxia over the head. Demyx let out a muffled yelp as Marluxia summoned his scythe and gave chase to the retreating sitarist. "Come back here Demyx! I'll take care of the tail!"

Marluxia was, for the moment, blissfully unaware that he was still wearing a very revealing pink dress. When he did realize it, he promptly retreated to his room, muttering furious curses.

Outside in the hall, Demyx had come back the way he had come, and got a sea-salt ice cream from Zexion, who seemed to have gotten some from a freezer. Demyx did hope that Vexen would find a way to get rid of the tail without having to resort to surgery. Demyx shivered. Surgery plus Vexen equaled creepiness. It wasn't that he didn't trust Vexen, it was just...creepy, that was all there was to it.

"Hey Demyx." Sai asked.

"Hmm?"

"What are you going to do about the tail?"

"I don't know. Deal with it I suppose."

Zexion hid a smile as he commented. "Well, don't let Xaldin near it. He might try to remove it with one of his lances."

Demyx choked on the ice cream, looking scared.

Sai patted him on the back. "Don't worry, I won't let anyone touch the tail."

"T...thanks."

Zexion tuned out the rest of their conversation as he tried to remember what the other two boxes did, one that was in Vexen's possession, and the other that was in Axel's. It would be interesting to see what those would do. He had known that one of the two boxes Axel had had to do with water.

As Zexion pondered this, he didn't notice Axel sneaking up from behind him, a gleeful and triumphant look on his face. He was about to grab Zexion, when Zexion suddenly vanished via portal, leaving Axel to fall face first to the ground. _'You escape...for now.'_

_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Yes, the chapter's ending there. So...what did you think of it? I'd appreciate any feedback or comments about how this chapter went. I hope to get the next chapter up sooner, but I'm not sure. I'll just have to see if I can think of another chapter. I do plan on putting up a one-shot Bleach story soon as well a two-part story focusing on Riku as a post KH2.

So, until next time, thanks for reading and/or reviewing!


	22. Zexion's Unfortunate Timing

Thank you for the reviews, I really appreciate it! And yes, I know that it's been over two weeks, but I had a bit of a writer's block (which I've overcome, for now). I've had the next several chapters planned out since before chapter 21, but I needed a chapter to connect from that one to chapter 23 (if that makes sense).

So, hopefully what happens in this chapter will make up for its shortness-it's about 1700 words (chapters after this will be longer, like chapter 21. So, with that out of the way, here's the transition chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts (2).

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Larxene lay on her bed, idly tossing a kunai up and down. She watched as the light from the room reflected off of the sharp blade, apparently lost in thought. This went on for several minutes, until she finally stopped, catching the kunai lightly by the handle. She sat up with a light sigh.She was very...bored. And for some reason, the other organization members usually avoided her when she was. Perhaps it was because she had zapped an unfortunate Roxas one time for trying to break into her room.

Larxene turned over in bed, frowning slightly. Nothing eventful had happened since Xemnas and a few others were locked in a room, and Demyx had sprouted a tail. Larxene lay there for a moment, thinking. All of a sudden, she leapt out of bed and headed for her door. It was uninteresting to stay in the room, and she needed to find a way to burn off some energy. Maybe use someone as a punching bag or something.

---

Demyx lay prone on his bed, sighing miserably once more. It had been three days since the tail had appeared, and he still hadn't gotten used to the idea of having to deal with it for a few weeks. Demyx rolled onto his stomach, closing his eyes. He had been avoiding other organization members, not wanting to be laughed at or be attacked (he still thought that Xaldin might come into his room in th dead of night and chop off the tail). Though, Demyx considered, Sai had said that he'd make sure no one did anything to him.

Demyx smiled into his pillow. He'd get Sai to be his bodyguard for awhile, at least until the tail were gone. After considering this, Demyx drifted to sleep, blissfully unaware that at that moment there were plans being discussed that involved him.

---

Inside Roxas' room...

"...And that's what we'll do, all right Roxas?"

"Axel?"

"Yeah?"

"I thought you wanted to do something to _Zexion_."

"Well, yes..."

"So then...how would abducting Demyx have _anything_ to do with getting back at Zexion?"

"You'll see."

Roxas sighed wearily, rubbing his head as he glanced up at the smiling red head. "Axel?"

"Hmm?"

"Why are we in my room again? Why not the kitchen?"

"We don't need to be overheard." Axel responded with a furtive glance around the room.

"No one's going to be spying on us. And anyway." Roxas paused. "How do you know how this'll turn out?"

"You don't trust me?" Axel gave Roxas a hurt expression.

"It's not that." Roxas rolled his eyes. "But..."

"But what?"

"How do you know nothing will go wrong?"

Axel got up off a chair and headed for the door. He withdrew a thin box and waved it at Roxas.

Roxas groaned. "Axel...Vexen's already trying to get an antidote for Demyx. He'll be angry if you give him something else to deal with."

Axel pouted. "Aww, come on Roxas. Don't be a spoilsport." Axel grinned mischievously. "Besides, what if it'll turn Zexion into a fluffy animal or something?" Axel left the room.

Roxas followed, shaking his head. This was a bad idea. Whatever would happen, Zexion was sure to come up with something much worse. Roxas shuddered. He didn't want to think about it.

---

"Zexion! Bring me that vial!"

"..."

"Zexion!"

"...Right."

Zexion shook himself from his thoughts and brought over the indicated vial, which Vexen took quickly. Zexion retreated back to the chair to avoid Vexen as he bustled around the laboratory. This had been going on for hours, and Zexion wanted to go to bed, now. After a few minutes of Vexen ignoring him, Zexion left for his room.The abrupt leave was due to Vexen cursing at the hissing and smoking test tubes (apparently, they weren't doing what he wanted them to).

Zexion entered his nice, quiet room, and slumped right onto his nice, soft bed. He was going to sleep, and get a lot of it. Nothing would get him out of bed. Nothing.

A few hours later...

"Ahh! Helllppp!"

Zexion woke abruptly, looking around sleepily as he struggled out of bed. What _was_ that?

Another call for help, and Zexion headed for the door to investigate. It had sounded suspiciously like Demyx. Zexion wondered if someone had tried to chop off the tail or something (or was going to). With a shake of his head, Zexion exited his room, following the fading cries for help.

It hadn't even occurred to him yet that this could technically be a trap.

---

Xaldin was partrolling the halls, and paused momentarily to watch Axel and Roxas dragging off a complaining Demyx. What drew Xaldin's attention was the tail poking out from beneath his coat. Xaldin watched their progress until they were out of view. When they were, Xaldin resumed walking. Whatever they were doing, Xaldin didn't feel like getting involved.

A few minutes later, Xaldin stopped again to watch a half-awake Zexion stalk by. Xaldin shook his head. Was something going on that he wasn't aware of? As he was thinking about this, he didn't notice Larxene sneaking after Zexion.

Larxene seemed to decide that Zexion was going to become her punching bag to release stress. She had come to this decision after remembering that she had kissed Vexen while pretending to be drunk to help Zexion. But now...she wanted revenge.

---

In the Hall of Empty Melodies...

"Demyx, pretend to be unconscious."

"I...I..."

"Please."

"...all right..."

Axel and Roxas retreated towards the lower level entrance, as Demyx lay face down, pretending to be asleep.

Within minutes, Zexion entered the room and approached the seemingly passed out Demyx. Zexion knelt next to the sitarist and shook him. "Demyx?"

Demyx opened his eyes and glanced up at Zexion silently.

Zexion was immediately on guard. Demyx had woken up far too quickly. And Zexion didn't like the expression he was being given at the moment. It was then Zexion realized that Roxas and Axel were in the room as well. How had he missed that? Zexion got to his feet in time to dodge a tackle from Roxas. Zexion ran for the door, but stopped upon seeing Axel, who was grinning. It was very...disconcerting.

Something wasn't right.

Axel was toying with something and Zexion stared at it apprehensively. A thin box. He wouldn't dare...

"Hey Zexy...do you know what this box does?" Axel asked with an evil grin.

Zexion was silent. He had a vague idea at what the boxes contained, but didn't know which one Axel had in his possession. "What will you do with it?" Considering Axel's expression, Zexion felt he already knew the answer. He needed to get out of here, _now_.

Axel had seemed to figure this out too, and threw the box (now open) at Zexion before he could react.

There was a slight flash, then nothing.

Axel, Roxas, and Demyx approached Zexion, who hadn't moved from the spot where he had been struck.

"Zexion?" Roxas asked.

Zexion stared at the three for a moment before speaking. "Vexen isn't going to be happy Axel."

"Why's that? Nothing happened." Axel replied, sounding disappointed.

Zexion heaved a sigh, and walked closer until he was within feet of them. Then, he indicated his head. "How is _this_ nothing?"

Demyx was the first to spot what had happened. "Zexion's ears." He stated simply.

Zexion held still as Axel flicked the hair on either side of his head.

"Hey, where'd your ears go?"

"There." Roxas said, pointing higher up on Zexion's head. There were two furry, elongated ears poking through the hair.

Zexion was very unhappy. _'Great. I hope Vexen kills Axel.' _ Zexion hid a faint smirk. _'Or uses him as a guinea pig to test antidotes.'_' His ears twitched as Axel poked them. _'Then again, I might just do something horrible to him.'_

---

In an unknown room full of plants and other writhing things...

"Again, no Luxord. Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Come on, one game Marluxia."

"For the last time, no. Go bother Roxas or something." Marluxia snapped irritably. He smiled as Luxord left, offended. He turned back to crooning at one of the larger plants.

Outside the room, Sai listened in amusement for awhile, before prowling off to find some sea salt ice cream.

Lexaeus was the next to pass by the room, and he peered inside to see what was going on.

"Marluxia. Xemnas told you not to bring anymore plants inside the castle since some have escaped from your room before!"

Xaldin was happening to pass by in time to see Lexaeus fending off an enraged and insulted Marluxia. He shook his head. It was late, why was everyone up?

A slight diversion came in the form of Demyx, who stumbled out of a portal. When he got his bearings, he shot off, looking terrified.

Xaldin, Lexaeus and Marluxia all exchanged glances. What was that about? And Demyx's tail was singed...

An ominous crash came from several levels above, accompanied by yells and screams. All three ran off to see what was going on. Luxord trailed after them, thinking of ways to blackmail people. Or he may have been thinking of what they would find.

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Well, it turned out longer than I thought. So, review if you like. I'm curious if anyone found this amusing other than me.

And Zexion's ears would resemble Rufus' from Lunar: Dragon Song (only more furry). And I'll try to update this sooner than I have been, since now I have this chapter connecting the previous one to the next chapter. And is anyone else getting confused about which chapters' which? I'm thinking of naming them so I can remember each one.

So, until the next update, thanks for reading and/or reviewing.


	23. Chapter 23

Thank you for the reviews, and sorry that it took awhile to update. I had a few chapters outlined, but I still had to type it up. I finally finished typing this chapter, and after editing it, I'm finally posting it.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts (2).

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Slightly earlier, right before Axel, Roxas, Zexion and Demyx encounter Larxene...

Axel kept pulling Zexion's elongated ears, grinning as he did so. "You should keep these Zexy. It helps your image." Axel glanced over to Roxas. "Don't you think so?"

Roxas was smiling. "Sure, it really brings out his hair color."

Zexion twitched irritably, inwardly trying to figure out whether to make a quick escape, or punish Axel then escape. He could tell that Larxene was headed in their general direction. Zexion didn't want to linger in this room too long to find out what Larxene wanted. "Axel, let go. Larxene's going to get here soon."

Axel flicked Zexion's ears. "Right. Sure she is." Axel said teasingly, then tugged the ears again. "You just want me to stop pulling your ears, don't you?"

Zexion sighed, attempting to release Axel's grip on the ears. "That's one of the reasons, but Larxene will actually be in this room very soon."

Roxas opened the door and peered outside. His face blanched and he slammed the door shut quickly. "He's not lying Axel. She looks like she's going to murder someone!"

Axel relinquished his grasp on Zexion and ran over to a nearby table with chairs. "Roxas, help me get these against the door!"

"Um, Axel?" Roxas asked.

"What?" Axel looked over his shoulder.

"She can just use a portal. There's no point blocking the door." Roxas stated.

"Oh, right." Axel looked disappointed, then laughed nervously. "So, what should we do?"

Roxas looked over at Demyx, who was now cowering behind a chair. "What are you doing Demyx?"

"I don't want to be electrocuted. Larxene'll probably go after whoever she sees first." Demyx responded. He ducked behind the chair as a knock sounded on the door.

"Oh Zexion, are you in there?" Came Larxene's voice.

Silence, which included Axel smiling slyly at a nervous Zexion.

Before Zexion could stop him, Axel grabbed him and called out. "Yep, he's in here Larxene. Come and get him."

"Axel? You're in there too?" There was a pause. "Good, now I can have two punching bags."

"W...What?!" Axel said, horrified. Zexion was smirking smugly.

Larxene entered the room, twirling a kunai and smiling evilly. "Oh, and Roxas and Demyx are here too, how nice of you to invite them." Larxene grinned as she saw Demyx shoot out from behind the chair. She flung a kunai in his direction. "Okay then, you're first!"

Demyx created a portal, and went through it just as he began to get zapped, while also narrowly avoiding the kunai as it whizzed by. Demyx ran past Marluxia and Lexaeus, then a confused Xaldin on the way to his room. Once Demyx got to his room, he locked the door securely, dearly hoping that Larxene wouldn't chase after him. Demyx patted his tail gingerly. It had taken the most damage from the electricity. Why him?

--- 

Sai was back in Zexion's room, staring at an alarm clock, wondering what it would do if he pressed one of the many buttons on it. He wondered because he'd never seen Zexion use it. Sai reached out a hand and pressed a medium sized button. All of a sudden, loud, irritating, scratchy music began blaring in Sai's face...

---

Back to the present...

Larxene threw kunai and electrocuted the three remaining in the room, before Axel and Roxas finally managed to escape, leaving Zexion behind in a room with a very unhappy Larxene. Or at least, it seemed that way, until Larxene started to smile in a way that meant excruciating pain for anyone foolish enough not to run.

Which was what Zexion did, as quickly as possible. Zexion wanted to put as much distance between them. Using a portal, Zexion went to Vexen's laboratory, which was relatively safe as long as nothing exploded. Zexion walked towards Vexen, and stopped a few feet away, watching as the other bustled around, adding potions and vials here and there, then checking temperatures and frowning every once and awhile.

A few minutes passed before Vexen spoke without looking up from what he was doing. "What brings you here Zexion?"

Zexion sighed heavily, his ears twitching. "You'll need to make another antidote for another of those boxes."

Vexen left off what he was doing and turned around. "What do you mean?" Vexen paused as Zexion gave him an unhappy look. "What's wrong with you? Did...oh, I see." Vexen finally noticed the furry, elongated ears. Vexen huffed in annoyance. "Axel again? Ugh, what's the point of making these experiments if that idiot whisks them away before they can be tested for anything faulty?" Vexen sighed and turned back to what he had been doing. "I'll work on another antidote then. Hand me that vial over there, would you?The blue colored one."

Zexion picked up said vial and handed it to Vexen. Zexion guessed he could help out for awhile (and avoid Larxene in the process).

A hour and a half later...

Zexion walked along the bright white halls in the direction of his bedroom, sighing. It was going to take awhile before the antidotes for himself and Demyx would be completed. Shaking his head, Zexion entered his bedroom and slumped wearily on his bed. His ears hurt from Axel pulling on them.

Zexion glanced over to the opposite side of the room, and saw Sai looking down at something, appearing offended. Zexion sat up and glanced in his general direction. "What is it Sai?"

No answer.

Zexion saw that Sai was staring down at a broken alarm clock, and giving it evil glares.

"Sai...why is the clock broken?" Zexion asked. Not that he ever used it that much.

Sai heard him this time. "I...er...thought it was going to attack. It had been very loud, and it moved." Sai appeared embarrassed, and held still as Zexion placed a hand on his forehead. "Zexion?"

_'No fever...'_ Zexion shrugged. "Oh, nothing... I know! Why don't you go and keep an eye on Demyx? You know, just in case someone tries to chop off his tail."

Sai nodded in agreement. "All right." Creating a portal, Sai stepped through, leaving Zexion alone in his room.

Or at least for a second, because there was a knock on his door. "Zexion, Xemnas wants to see you." Came Saix's voice.

"Fine." Zexion said, not really in any mood to see anyone. He quickly looked around his room for something to cover up his ears, but couldn't. Still very unhappy, Zexion created a portal and went through it, directly into Xemnas' room. Stepping out of the portal, Zexion found Xemnas sitting at his desk, waiting patiently for Zexion to, most likely, come a little bit closer. Zexion came within a few feet of the desk before Xemnas decided to talk to him.

"I have a mission for you Zexion. I have reasons to believe that you are the one causing all the trouble. Though the only proof I have is from that day when I and some others were locked in a room." Xemnas stared at Zexion, as though trying to get him to agree to the accusation. He didn't, so Xemnas motioned to a small pile of papers.

Zexion came forward and grabbed the pieces of paper and scanned them, not noticing that Xemnas was watching him in a contemplative way. Zexion only noticed when he was finished reading. "What...is it?"

Xemnas took a moment to reply. He had seen Zexions long ears attempting to flatten themselves against his head.

"What is it?" Zexion questioned again.

Xemnas shook his head. "Why are your ears like that? What happened?"

"Axel threw another of those thin boxes from Vexen's experiments at me. It's similar to what happened to Demyx, except that my ears were the only things that changed. I didn't grow a tail." After saying this, Zexion glanced back quickly to make sure he hadn't sprouted a tail.

Xemnas frowned a bit in annoyance at this. "Hmm, are there any other boxes?"

Zexion nodded. "Yes, but Axel doesn't have them. Most of Vexen's experiments are locked away. Mostly harmless ones are out in the open though."

Xemnas could tell that Zexion didn't seem to think what happened to him was harmless, but decided not to say anything. Instead, he steered the conversation towards the mission. "You may take some others with you if that will help get the mission done better." Xemnas paused, seeing that Zexion was struggling with whether or not to say something. "What's wrong?"

Zexion hesitated, then asked. "What if I don't want to do the mission?"

---

Lexaeus, Xaldin, Marluxia and Luxord had arrived in the room right after Larxene and the others had left. So, they went to what they had been doing before.

Marluxia had managed to shut himself in the room full of plants, refusing to let Lexaeus in. He also ignored Lexaeus trying to get him to take the plants out of the castle.

"Marluxia, you can't keep them."

"Go away, they're not going anywhere!"

Luxord showed up out of nowhere. "Lexaeus, could you go and help Axel and Roxas? Larxene's chasing them again. That must have been the crash we heard earlier."

"Isn't that normal?" Lexaeus asked, still trying to figure out how to lure Marluxia out of the room and deal with the plants.

"I suppose, but she's trying to kill them this time." Luxord responded.

"Ah." Lexaeus promptly portaled away. He reappeared in a corridor, and found the scene of the problem. Luckily for Axel and Roxas, Xaldin arrived first.

Xaldin's lances were forming a cage around the infuriated Larxene, who was trying to zap Xaldin but failing.

Lexaeus turned to Axel and Roxas, who were gasping for breath. "What did you do?"

Axel gave Lexaeus an annoyed look. "We didn't _do_ anything! We were in a room with Zexion and Demyx, and Larxene came in and decided she wanted to use us for punching bags."

Lexaeus looked over his shoulder, flinched as Xaldin dodged a particularly nasty bolt of lightning, and turned back to Axel and Roxas. "I'd probably leave now."

"Right." Roxas replied, and he and Axel dashed off.

Lexaeus walked over to Larxene and Xaldin. "Larxene, what do you think you're doing?" He sidestepped an attack.

"Don't bother. She won't listen. I think we should leave and let her cool down." Xaldin stated.

"I suppose you're right." Lexaeus left through a portal, as did Xaldin once he released Larxene from the cage of lances.

Larxene huffed, and stormed off to go and find Zexion, since he was the one she originally wanted to beat up. And he had gotten away. Where could he have gotten to? _'Where are you Zexion?'_ Larxene thought silently as she prowled the halls. He wouldn't escape so easily next time.

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I know this wasn't very long, but hey, at least I updated, and it was a bit longer than the last one. Hopefully it's all right. You can review if you'd like. I am a bit curious as to how this chapter turned out. I hope to update this as soon as possible, but that might not be for over a week. I'm going to attempt to make the next chapter over 2,000 words.

So, until next time, thanks for reading and/or reviewing!


	24. Chapter 24

Yes, I'm alive. Evil homework takes up too much of my time. Thank you for the reviews, and I'm sorry that it took so long to update. Anyway, I was wondering if people would like shorter chapters but more frequent updates, or longer chapters but less frequent updates.

So here's the next chapter, and hopefully it flows.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts (2).

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Xemnas stared at Zexion in shock and amazement. Had he just asked what if he didn't want to do the mission? Xemnas furrowed his eyebrows and gazed at the number six of his organization. There was no way Zexion had just basically told him he refused to take the mission. Zexion always agreed to take on any mission, no matter what it was.

Zexion shifted uncomfortably where he was standing. Zexion could tell that Xemans was in a state of shock about questioning his orders. Zexion prevented a small smile from forming on his lips. It was enjoyable every once and awhile to blow Xemnas' mind. Xemnas probably never suspected that he, Zexion, The Cloaked Schemer, would ever say he didn't want to carry out a mission.

Xemnas recovered from his momentary state of shock, and fixed Zexion with a cool glare. "Why don't you want to take the mission?"

Zexion's furry ears flattened themselves against his head as much as possible. "I don't wish to carry out the mission at the moment, because I am currently occupied with trying to deal with having elongated, furry ears, courtesy of Axel."

Xemnas stared at Zexion blankly. "Is that all? You don't have any other reasons?"

Zexion's ears stood up on end. "What other reason do I need?!" He snapped irritably.

Xemnas folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. "No one is going to see you other than the Heartless that need to be disposed of as part of the mission."

Zexion's ears twitched. "True, but what about the lower-ranking Nobodies? They'll see me."

Xemnas gave Zexion a concerned look. "Why would that matter at all?"

Zexion cast a quick glance around Xemnas' room before replying, "Do you know how much they gossip? They'll make fun of me behind my back, and Demyx as well, if I'm supposed to bring him with me, according to what it says in the mission papers."

"Oh yes, I remember now, I did ask for Demyx to accompany you." Xemnas said, while also wondering if Dusks did indeed gossip. He'd have to check into that.

"Can't someone else take the mission?" Zexion questioned, close to pleading.

Xemnas sighed, massaging his forehead, "Based on the mission's content and taking into consideration other members' powers, you are the best fit for the job. And Demyx will go with you, because he should prove useful given he doesn't run away like he usually does."

Zexion looked away. "I still don't want to take the mission at the moment." Zexion flinched as Xemnas chucked the mission details packet at him. Zexion's ears then flattened against his head as Xemnas raged at him.

"I don't care if you have furry ears sticking out of your head you fool! This mission needs to be completed as soon as possible before I can send anyone else on missions! Do I make myself clear? Or do you want to be a Dusk for awhile?" Xemnas stared in a crazed way at Zexion.

Zexion held the packet against his chest and laughed nervously. "Right...but I think I'll pass..." he said in a small voice, backing away to the door.

Xemnas curled his lip in amusement. "You better get going then. I think that the boxes have more effects than you thought."

One of Zexion's ears tipped sideways. "What do you mean?" Zexion followed Xemnas' gaze and found, to his horror, a long, fluffy tail poking out form beneath his cloak. "What the...?!"

"I hope Vexen can find an antidote for you and Demyx, before you turn into an overgrown cat or something." Xemnas commented with a smile.

"It's not funny!" Zexion snapped, before storming out of the office,muttering something about getting the mission done as quickly and efficiently as possible.

When Zexion was gone, Xemnas leaned back in his chair again with a smug, satisfied expression.

---

Zexion walked along the hall, paging through the mission details. Zexion sighed, before tucking the packet under his arm. Before he could leave, he had to go and get Demyx, as well as Sai, since it seemed like he was taking his job of protecting Demyx seriously.

As Zexion walked, he began to wonder why everything was so quiet. That was rather...unusual, especially around this time when Axel and Roxas were usually stirring up trouble. Zexion halted, and almost immediately, Lexaeus and Xaldin came running towards him.

"What's going on?" Zexion questioned, trying to keep his ears and tail as unnoticeable as possible.

Xaldin ran by, but Lexaeus paused long enough to answer Zexion.

"We're avoiding Larxene. She's very angry for some reason. Hopefully she calms down soon. It's hard to get anything dome around here when Larxene is trying to beat people up." Lexaeus ran to try and catch up with Xaldin, who had already made it to the far end of the hall.

Zexion watched them until they were out of sight, before Lexaeus' words sank in.

An angry Larxene. Attacking people.

There was an ominous flash of lightning from the other side of the hall from where Xaldin and Lexaeus had come from.

Zexion promptly got out of the area via portal, and came out in another hall, which was the closest to Demyx's room. Zexion knocked on the door and waited, glancing around the hall nervously, almost expecting Larxene to come flying out of a portal to come and torture him. Nothing happened.

Voices could be heard from inside the room, and the door opened slightly. Demyx peered out of the room at Zexion, and, after seeing it was just him, allowed Zexion to come in. Once Zexion was inside the room, Demyx closed the door and locked it.

Zexion took a seat on a chair, declining to tell Demyx that locking the door really wouldn't keep anyone out.

Demyx sat down on his bed, where Sai was playing with an alarm clock. "So...what's up?"

"Xemnas wants me to go on a mission, but I told him that I wasn't interested." Zexion responded.

Demyx's eyes widened. "Really? What happened?"

"We argued...and I still ended up having to do the mission." Zexion replied, then noticed that Demyx was staring at him. "What?"

"Is...that a tail?" Demyx asked.

Zexion merely nodded, ignoring the smile that had formed on Demyx's face, and the failed attempt to hold back laughter. Zexion suddenly let out a yelp as his tail was yanked. Zexion leapt into the air and spun around, to find Sai looking up at him sheepishly.

"S...sorry...I wanted to see if it was real or not." Sai explained, smiling uncertainly at the obviously irritated Zexion.

Zexion tucked his tail underneath his cloak again , and showed the mission packet to Demyx and Sai. "I've read over the mission, and basically..."

"Zexion?"

"What?"

"Why are you telling me?" Demyx wondered.

"I'm telling you because Xemnas wants me to take you along, since supposedly you would be useful. Sai may come as well so that he can make sure you won't get hurt." Zexion answered.

"Xemnas...wants me to go?" Demyx asked in a small voice.

"Yes, so no arguing. Would you like me to explain the mission?" Zexion asked.

Demyx sighed unhappily, "Yes please."

Zexion took a breath. "All right. Our mission is to go to The Underworld and Hallow Bastion to deal with some new kinds of Heartless that are impedig other nobodies. That is the first half of the mission. Understand?"

Demyx was staring at Zexion in horror. "Th...that's only half the mission? Why would Xemnas think we're the best for the job?"

"He probably checked into it. Anyway, if you really don't want to fight, we can have Sai take care of the Heartless." Zexion commented.

"Would you?" Demyx asked Sai.

"Sure, as long as I can have some Sea-Salt ice cream when we come back." Sai responded cheerfully.

Zexion still found it disturbing to see a happy replica of Saix, but it was nice that Sai didn't mind fighting Heartless. Zexion headed for the door. "We should get going then." Zexion opened the door, then froze in surprise.

An evilly grinning Larxene was standing outside the room. She twirled a kunai around and flashed a sweet smile at Zexion, "Hello Zexy...I was looking for you. Want to play?"

Zexion slammed the door shut and threw himself into a portal, followed closely by a frightened Demyx and Sai.

Larxene's kunai disappeared, and she left the area in a huff. "You can run as much as you like. I'll catch you eventually and then...we'll have some fun."

---

Xemnas was relaxing in his office after ordering Saix to keep an eye on Zexion. He had also told Saix to take Marluxia with him, so that Lexaeus and Xigbar could remove some of the more dangerous plants from the room that Xemnas hadn't authorized for Marluxia's use. Xemnas smirked as he remembered telling Saix to drag Marluxia off if he had to.

Xemnas expression suddenly changed into one that said he was up to no good. Xemnas began to scribble on a piece of paper, beginning to smile maniacally. Unknown to Xemnas, Axel and Roxas were approaching to complain about Larxene's sudden increase in violence.

---

"Are you sure we should do this Axel? Won't he just ignore us?" Roxas asked as Axel opened Xemnas' door slightly.

Axel ignored Roxas' comment and was about ready to enter the room when he caught sight of Xemnas' expression. Axel backed away with a laugh. "You know, maybe you're right. Let's try later. Xemnas is in his happy place at the moment."

Roxas gave Axel a weird look, before looking into the room himself. Roxas took one look at Xemnas before backing several feet away. "I agree. We should probably leave him alone."

Axel and Roxas snuck off, leaving Xemnas alone to be in his 'happy place', wherever that might be. The two also avoided Larxene, who looked about ready to murder the first person to cross her path.

"Hey Axel?"

"What?"

"Where do you think Zexion is?"

"I dunno."

"Want to go look for him?"

"Sure, why not. But how about we stop by and say hello to Vexen?"

"Um...okay."

"All right, let's go!" Axel dragged Roxas off in the direction of the labs.

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Again, sorry it took so long to update. Axel is up to no good, isn't he? Happy Thanksgiving to whoever celebrates it. I'm going to be trapped for several hours at a Thanksgiving lunch, or early dinner.

Anyway, until next time, thanks for reading and/or reviewing!


	25. Chapter 25

Thank you very much for the reviews and sorry for the wait. I'm glad that people are patient. And I did try to name chapters just to know which is which, though I'm still working on it.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts 2.

22222

Zexion and Demyx walked along a path in the Underworld, Sai a few steps ahead of them with his claymore out, keeping a sharp eye out for any Heartless foolish enough to come near them.

For the most part, Zexion tried to ignore Demyx's nervous twitching and glancing around, as though something were going to leap out at him and attack. Zexion's patience, however, was slowly wearing thin as Demyx kept clinging to him whenever he heard a sound. "Demyx, quit grabbing me. Nothings going to attack all three of us without having shown itself to us first."

Demyx relinquished his grasp on Zexion's arm, but looked doubtful about what the other had said. Demyx walked in silence for a moment, his attention drawn to little orbs floating around him. He poked one, and it disappeared. Demyx laughed nervously, then spoke, "Um, Zexion...can you tell if there are any Heartless nearby?"

Zexion sighed, but stopped walking momentarily to check. If reassuring Demyx would get him a few moments of silence, he'd humor Demyx. Zexion closed his eyes to concentrate.

Minutes passed, before Demyx hesitantly decided to speak up, "...Zexion...?"

Zexion's eyes flew open in alarm, and began to run down a corridor of the cavern.

"Where are you going Zexion?" Demyx asked in alarm.

"This way, unless you want to meet an enormous Heartless," Came Zexion's reply.

Sai and Demyx exchanged glances, before dashing after Zexion to catch up.

Behind them, a few tunnels away, something moved in the darkness with flashing eyes.

22222

Vexen was attempting to concentrate on making a potion to reverse the effects of the packets, but kept having to start over because none of the combinations he had tried had worked. And it wasn't helping that the Dusk he was testing with kept disappearing on him. Vexen pushed a test tube aside. It wasn't that he couldn't make an antidote, it was just that he needed the right conditions to get the potion right. Vexen gritted his teeth and clenched a fist. It also required that no one bothered him while trying to work, a fact that seemed lost upon two younger, trouble-making nobodies.

"Hey Roxas, what do you think this does?"

"I dunno Axel, but I wouldn't touch it. What if you turn into a Dusk again?"

Vexen attempted to calm himself. He really shouldn't be bothered with these idiots in his laboratory. He could still work as long as they stayed out of his way and didn't break anything...

CRASH!

"Do you think that was important?"

"What are you asking me?"

Vexen massaged his forehead. Scratch that. Those two were going to leave. Now.

22222

Larxene happened to be passing by Vexen's laboratory when the door flew open and two nobodies were booted out by a furious Vexen.

"Do you have any idea how much that cost? The next time I see you in here, you'll regret it," Vexen snarled, then slammed the door so that he could concentrate on his work.

Axel and Roxas were laying on the ground, looking at each other.

"See? I told you not to touch it, didn't I?" Roxas grumbled, prodding the ground moodily.

Axel sat up with a grin, "Wasn't my fault. Whatever it was should have been made better. I hardly even touched it and bam, it breaks."

Roxas sat up and shook his head," Why did you even want to go in there in the first place?"

Axel was smiling mischieveously, "Who said we went in there for nothing?" Axel held up a thin vial and shook it in front of Roxas, "I'm pretty sure I know what this does, and I think we should give it to...you know...Xemnas. He seriously needs help."

Roxas shuddered at the look he had seen on Xemnas' face, "Maybe, but why would we do that? Weren't we going to talk to him about Larxene once he was done with...uh...whatever he was doing?"

"What about me?"

Axel and Roxas froze, and looked at each other nervously.

Axel smiled, "You know, I don't think we should be here right now."

"Yeah...we should probably get out of here, and fast," Roxas responded. He and Axel were about to get up when a blade was placed against each of the backs of their necks.

"Are you going to answer me or not?" Larxene purred, playing with the kunai against the others necks teasingly.

"Oh, that, well, you see..." Roxas began, then drifted off, unsure what to say with a blade so close.

"Just wanting to tell Xemnas that you seem to be more irritable and that a mission to destroy things might release some of that anger." Axel finished for Roxas.

There was a silence, then Larxene withdrew the kunai and allowed the other two to stand up. She looked at them silently, then began to smile, "What exactly does that vial you have do? If it's interesting, I might forget that I was going to beat you two to a pulp."

Roxas laughed nervously, then looked over at Axel. "So, what does it do?"

Axel smiled, "You want to know? Why don't we just go test it out?"

22222

Marluxia was inside a room with some more of his 'dangerous' plants, and was currently taking care of them. He didn't hear the door opening or he fact that Saix was approaching him in a stalker-like way.

"Marluxia." Saix deadpanned, ignoring the jump and gasp from Marluxia as he turned around and faced the Berserker.

Marluxia eyed Saix suspiciously, wondering why he was there. Since Saix didn't usually talk to him, Marluxia assumed that he was here on Xemnas' orders, "What do you want? Can't you see I'm busy? If Xemnas wants me to go on a mission, tell him I will when I'm done." He huffed irritably.

"Xemnas wants you to accompany me to The Underworld and Hallow Bastion, to keep an eye on Zexion." Saix responded, slight anger rising in his voice.

Marluxia crossed his arms and glared cooly back at the Luna Diviner,"And if I don't want to?" He knew enticing Saix was probably not the smartest thing in the world, but he didn't like being thrown into missions without being spoken to about it first.

"You're going whether you want to or not," Saix responded, and with that, approached Marluxia.

The Graceful Assassin backed away slowly, trying to decide how to get out of this prediciment. One on hand, he was interested to go, perhaps to catch Zexion in the act of doing a prank, but on the other hand, he'd rather not have to go with Saix... Marluxia let out a surprised yelp as he was hoisted up and over onto one of Saix's shoulders. As Saix headed into a portal, Marluxia was silently attempting to curse Xemnas for doing this to him. Little did he know that it kind of worked.

22222

"Was it one of the new Heartless the Superior was talking about?" Demyx asked Zexion.

Zexion was leaning against the cavern wall, trying to discern where the Heartless was and which way it was going. He was also trying to figure out how the heck they were supposed to beat or capture something that size. Sai would probably be able to last in a fight with it, but not for very long, depending on what abilities the Heartless had...

"Zexion, did you hear me?"

Maybe the reason Xemnas sent him was that he'd be able to devise some plan on how to deal with new Heartless, so that the rest of the Organization could deal with them...or maybe Xemnas just didn't want to deal with it...

"Zexion?"

Why not send Xigabr? He could easily pinpoint a Heartless' weak spot and hit it. Even Axel would be able to cause damage with his fire element. Heck, even Roxas could beat a Heartless bigger than himself if he was motivated to do so.

"Um...Zexion?"

What the heck was Xemnas thinking sending Demyx with him? Sure, his element was water, and that was useful, but considering that Demyx didn't exactly like to fight...

"Zexion!" Demyx pulled on Zexion's furry ears to get his attention.

Zexion let out a pained cry and whirled around to Demyx with a furious expression as he held onto his own ears. Ignoring the throbbing, Zexion gritted out,"What do you want? Can't you tell I'm trying to think here?"

"Well, yeah, but...you see...I was just wondering if that Heartless was the one we were running away from," Demyx asked nervously, pointing across the cavern.

Zexion followed Demyx's pointing, then sucked in his breath. There was a Heartless blocking the passageway, and was salvating more and more at the three two nobodies and replica. It resembled Cerberus in a way, if Cerberus had decided to get matted purple and white fur, trade in two of it's heads and get spikes coming out of its body, as well as lose patches of skin. The Heartless opened it's jaw to reveal two rows of sharp teeth as it roared at them.

Demyx clung to Sai as he spoke to Zexion,"Is it wanting to eat us?"

Zexion frowned as the Heartless licked its lips and headed towards them in a slow trot. "No Demyx, maybe it wants to play." Zexion said sarcastically, as he dodged backwards to avoid being crushed by an enormous paw.

Demyx and Sai dodged as well, trying to avoid the Heartless' paws as it attempted to catch them.

The Heartless let out an annoyed whine and backed off a few paces, as if analyzing the three others.

"Z...Zexion, what is it doing?" Demyx asked.

"Should I fight with it yet?" Sai questioned, thinking that if he did he could get a lot of Sea-salt ice cream for doing so.

"Not yet. We need to see what it's capable of. I'll let you know when to attack," Zexion responded. He eyed the Heartless in confusion. Why was i just standing there, swaying? What was it waiting for? Was it savoring it's victory of cornering them?

"Zexion! Look out!" Demyx called out suddenly.

"What...!" Zexion began, then let out a surprised gas as something wrapped around his middle and brought him over towards the Heartless, which seemed to be smiling now. Zexion glanced down and saw that it was some kind of tentacle was wrapped around him. Where the hell did it come from?

"Zexion!"

Zexion twisted to see Sai running forward with the claymore raised.

The Heartless began to back away, as though intending to take Zexion away with it to some dark corner of the Underworld.

"Hang on Zexion! We'll save you!" Demyx exclaimed, following Sai at a distance.

Zexion sighed, hoping that somehow, he would be able to get revenge on Xemnas for sending him on this mission. He began to struggle against the tentacle. But for now, he'd have to concentrate on his current problem.

22222

Xemnas was staring out the window of his office/room at Kingdom Hearts. He was silently wondering how long it would take Zexion and Demyx to complete their mission. A knock on the door brought Xemnas out of his thoughts, "Enter." Xemnas responded, not taking his eyes off the heart-shaped moon.

"Hey Superior. We were wondering if you could maybe talk to Vexen. He kicked me and Roxas out for just hanging out in the laboratory." Axel commented, as he and Roxas entered the room.

Xemnas didn't turn around, but already his peaceful reprieve seemed to be doomed now,"He doesn't do that on a whim. You must have done something."

"Well, we may have, but anyway, he wanted you to have this." Axel replied, taking out the thin vial.

Xemnas finally turned around and eyed the thin vial suspiciously,"And why would he have you give that to me if you broke something already?"

"He said that we should do something useful." Roxas answered.

"Hmm, and what did he say after that?"

"That we'd regret going back into the lab." Roxas responded truthfully. _'I hope you know what you're doing Axel.'_ Roxas thought nervously. If this went wrong...

"Very well. Go and assist Xaldin and Xigbar on removing some more dangerous plants from the room Marluxia suddenly decided was his." Xemnas said, waving a hand to dismiss them.

"Ugh, I suppose." Axel walked forward and set the vial on Xemnas' desk. Then, he and Roxas left the room, closing the door behind them.

22222

"I can't believe he actually believed us. I thought he would find out." Roxas said as they headed for the room Xemnas had told them about.

"Don't worry, it'll be worth it." Axel replied,"And besides, I read that it wears off in a few days."

"But still, it'll be creepy to see an overly happy, energetic Xemnas. What if it does something else to him, did you think of that? What if that makes him want to give us more missions? " Roxas asked uncertainly.

Axel clapped Roxas on the shoulder,"You worry too much, c'mon, let's get going."

"If you say so..." Roxas muttered as he followed Axel.

22222

Marluxia walked alongside Saix unhappily, giving his surroundings a distasteful glance,"Utterly dull. There isn't anything growing here."

"It is The Underworld. Things are dead, so nothing would grow, would it?" Saix responded, keeping an eye on his surroundings. He was already getting an uneasy feeling...

"Dammit! Let go of me you overgrown mutt!"

"Hang on Zexion!"

"We'll save you!"

Marluxia and Saix watched in silence as the huge Heartless lumbered by, one of its tentacles keeping a firm grasp on Zexion, who was struggling in vain to get away. Behind them, Demyx and Sai hurried to keep up.

Marluxia watched the scene in amusement,"Hmm, maybe it was worth it to come after all."

"..." Saix wondered why a replica of him was still around. Shrugging, Saix ran after the group, deciding that Xemnas wouldn't appreciate it very much if any Organization XIII members were defeated by a sorry excuse of a Heartless.

Marluxia followed him reluctantly, seeming to think that Zexion was getting what he deserved.

Voices echoed along the cavern walls as the pursuit began.

22222

Yes, I am alive! And I have been wanting to update this story. I finally had some inspiration. Sorry for the wait. Homework plus GetBackers had taken over my mind for awhile.

I enjoyed typing this chapter, and I'm glad I did. It's put me in a better mood at least. So...could anyone let me know if the transition from the last chapter to this one was all right, plus any other thoughts?

I'm glad that people like this story, and I hope to keep it going as long as I can. I can't say when the next chapter will come out though. I have two-three papers to work on for the next three weeks, so I won't have very much free time. I just happened to have a lull in homework to be able to type this one.

Until next time, thanks for reading and/or reviewing!


	26. Chapter 26

Thanks for the reviews and sorry about the wait. About three months since I updated last. But this chapter is twice as long as the other ones, so it's like 2 or 2 and a half chapters in one. Plus it is one of my favorite chapters now. Anyway...I noticed that some chapters had misspellings and letters missing, so I'm thinking of editing existing chapters at some point. I swear the site removes letters in the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts 2.

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The Heartless seemed to have deemed that Zexion was easier to hold in its mouth than its strange tentacles. So, Zexion dangled helplessly from the enormous dog Heartless' mouth, which was holding him between the jaws tightly enough so that escape wasn't an option. Zexion scowled at nothing in particular, wondering if Xemnas had indeed planned this all along, and that he was being punished for pranking other organization members in the past few months. Zexion winced as the Heartless bit down a bit more as it took a quick turn around a corner. Zexion heard startled cries from Sai and Demyx, and noticed that the Heartless had leapt up a sheer cliff of fifty feet. Wait. When had there been cliffs that tall in the Underworld? Maybe he, the Cloaked Schemer, hadn't explored as thoroughly as he had thought.

"Hang on Zexion!"

"We'll rescue you!"

Zexion tilted his head and saw that Demyx and Sai were still keeping up the pursuit, but had fallen considerably behind. Zexion winced, wondering whether the Heartless' teeth would pierce all the way through his clothing. Attempting to ignore the painful sensation of being held, Zexion lifted his head and looked at the Heartless. He could only see one big, red colored eye that was staring back at him with a golden pupil. Had Zexion a heart, he would have more than likely frozen with fear at the sight. Instead, Zexion merely glared back defiantly at the Heartless with his left eye, his right being assaulted by his own hair. Sometimes his haircut annoyed him, but for purposes of intimidation, he found it more effective to glare at people with only one eye.

The Heartless probably didn't care one way or another. It snorted through its nose, in what seemed like a laugh as it whipped around several corners and up a few jutting cliffs, being lost from Sai and Demyx's sight.

This just wasn't turning out to be a good day.

121121

Xemnas eyed the vial Axel had set down on his desk warily. Had Vexen really asked Axel to deliver the vial to him? "He could have…" Xemnas mused to himself. Vexen could have given Axel and Roxas the vial to get them out of his laboratory. It seemed like something he would do. Xemnas shook his head. It probably wasn't dangerous if Vexen wanted him to ingest it. Although…he was always skeptical of anything that came out from that lab. Xemnas frowned. Maybe he would have someone try it before him, to see if it were safe…

Xemnas heaved a heavy sigh and leaned back in his chair. There weren't many organization members available in the castle…rather, he had sent them all on missions or given them a task to complete in the castle. Xaldin and Lexaeus were dealing with Marluxia's dangerous plants, Vexen was busy doing…something…in his laboratory, and wouldn't want to be disturbed. He had sent Saix and Marluxia to keep tabs on Zexion and Demyx's mission in the Underworld. That left Luxord, Xigbar, Axel, Roxas and Larxene. Xemnas tapped his fingers together. He assumed there would be a ruckus with Xaldin and Lexaeus removing the plants, so Xigbar would more than likely go and watch. It seemed like something he would do. Luxord would probably want to keep his distance from them, but would probably watch as well. He had no idea what Larxene would be up to. That left Roxas and Axel having free reign in the castle, with no one to keep them in check. That was not good. He'd have to find something for them to do.

The last time Axel and Roxas were left to their own devices in the castle, they succeeded in breaking several showers, flooding one of the castle floors, and drove Vexen to near hysteria by 'accidentally' breaking several important items in his laboratory. Not only that, they managed to get into the Superior's office…

Xemnas inwardly shuddered. It had been a mess, and he had had Saix pursue the miscreants, while he had attempted to calm down. Xemnas closed his eyes. Well, he'd figure out something, they couldn't get into too much trouble. Xemnas reached for the vial.

121

As Xemnas predicated, Axel and Roxas were wandering the castle, looking for something amusing to do. Rather, Axel wanted to cause some mischief, while Roxas was torn between joining his friend, or staying out of trouble to avoid Xemnas' wrath.

Axel noticed his friends' hesitation, and spoke, "Come on Roxas, what're you looking all confused for?"

Roxas sighed, "Are you sure we should be doing this? What if the potion in that vial doesn't work and Xemnas catches us doing something?"

Axel shrugged, then smiled mischievously, "Aww, come on Roxas, where's your sense of adventure? If that vial doesn't work, we'll just make sure that we stay out of his way for awhile. But if it does work…" Axel grinned evilly, "Then everyone shouldn't mind if we stir up some trouble. They may even find it funny."

"Except for the fact that Saix'll either maim or murder us. Vexen as well…" Roxas reminded the grinning red-head.

Axel's grin faded slightly, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot about them…"

'_You did forget about them.' _Roxas thought irritably, before saying aloud, "So, what would we do about him if the vial does work?"

"Well…we'll figure it out when we get to that point, "Axel responded, regaining his grin as he threw an arm around Roxas' shoulders, "C'mon Roxas, let's go see what there's to eat in the kitchen while we wait. It shouldn't take too long for Xemnas to try out the potion."

Roxas wriggled out of Axel's grasp and headed towards the kitchen, muttering, "Just hope Xemnas doesn't want to try it out on someone else first."

Axel trailed after Roxas, really hoping that Xemnas wouldn't do that.

121

Vexen bustled around his laboratory, muttering to himself. Axel and Roxas had thrown off his calculations for the antidote to Zexion and Demyx's 'packet' accidents, which had caused appendages to sprout out of nowhere. Vexen grumbled to himself in irritation as he looked at a few beakers containing different colored liquids. Frowning, Vexen emptied the beakers and cleaned them out. Vexen gathered some materials and was about ready to begin new calculations, when there was an echoing crash, along with several loud curses. Vexen scrunched up the piece of paper he had been scribbling upon and tossed it into was wastebasket.

Vexen opened up a portal with an irritated wave of his hand and stepped through it, planning many possibilities of what he could do if the ruckus had no reason to even exist. Vexen exited the portal, but his frown was replaced with an expression of surprise. Since the portal had vanished, Vexen threw himself backwards to avoid being grabbed by an extremely peeved man eating venus flytrap, it's 'neck' being held tight by Lexaeus.

"What is going on here?" Vexen demanded, recovering from his surprise and glaring hatefully at the venus fly trap.

Lexaeus held the plant firmly, before shaking his head, "Marluxia was using one of the spare rooms to keep his more dangerous plants in. Xemnas found out, and told Xaldin and I to remove them from the castle…" Lexaeus broke off to concentrate on subduing the plant, "One moment…"

Vexen watched and waited patiently while Lexaeus wrestled the plant down a nearby staircase. Vexen shook his head. Figures. Of course Marluxia would need a place to keep those kinds of plants. Vexen silently thanked Xemnas for the order to remove said plants. Perhaps he could get Xemnas to make Marluxia take out the venus fly trap from his room as well. That thing had nearly eaten him!

Cursing and laughter came from inside the room Lexaeus had indicated.

Vexen approached the door, resting a hand on the doorknob cautiously. Wondering if entering the room was really a good idea, Vexen turned the doorknob and went in anyway, but remained near the entrance. Inside the room, chaos was brewing. Vexen quickly slammed the door shut as a plant tried to escape. Vexen froze a vine inching up one of his legs. Freeing his leg easily, Vexen turned his attention to what was happening.

Xaldin had pinned several plants with all six of his lances, swearing profusely as another plant wrapped its leafy limbs around his legs, and proceeded to fondle them.

Vexen glared at a plant that had begun to approach him. The plant scooted away and cowered in a corner of the room, trying to make itself as small as possible.

"Vexen! Quit standing around and help me deal with these things!" Xaldin snapped, leaning away from a plant that was brushing a vine across one of his sideburns. A smaller plant had decided to play with his hair as well.

Above, watching the scene with great amusement was Xigbar. Xaldin seemed to have forgotten that he was in the room, since he wasn't threatening to kill him or 'end' his existence. Luxord had left the room earlier so that he wouldn't be asked to round up the plants as well.

121121

Saix had to stop following Demyx and Sai, not because he wanted to, but because Marluxia was flat-out refusing to run any more, despite being interested to what would happen to Zexion. Saix stood still, brushing a hand across one of his sleeves. Something scuttled away, but Saix paid it no heed. He returned to his stationary position, yellow eyes narrowed in irritation, upon his fellow organization member, who had also abruptly stopped, leaning against the nearby wall with his eyes closed.

Saix inwardly sighed. Why had Xemnas insisted that he bring Marluxia along? He hoped there was a better reason than getting the Graceful Assassin away from his room full of dangerous plants. Saix cast a sideways glance in the direction they had been running. Echoing cries and curses could still be heard. Saix frowned, before returning his piercing gaze back to Marluxia, who seemed quite unconcerned, as though nothing that was going on was of any importance to him.

Saix scowled faintly, clenching and unclenching one of his hands, eyes closing in concentration. He was trying to pinpoint the echoing sounds that were Demyx, Zexion and the replica of himself. His concentration was being put off by Marluxia, who had begun to mutter to himself, although some of the comments were directed at the Luna Diviner. Saix's hand twitched. His patience was wearing thin.

Marluxia seemed oblivious to this fact, and continued to mutter, which was also a complaint at the same time, "My poor babies are being taken away from their home. Where are they being taken? They need to be paid attention to. This is all your fault. If I hadn't been dragged off by you, I could have protected them. This was planned! Yes, the Superior must have been planning this all along. Why do you listen to him? What id you couldn't see Kingdom Hearts from your room? How would you like that? I am interested in seeing what that Heartless will do to Zexion, but I've no desire to go on any further than I already have." Marluxia crossed his arms and watched a few glowing orbs float past him, before he shook the hair from his face, glaring at Saix before looking pointedly away, clearly stating that he refused to move from his current position.

While Marluxia spoke, Saix was growing more and more irritated. When Marluxia fell silent and was looking away, Saix ground his teeth, trying to decide what to do. Making up his mind rather quickly, Saix swept over to Marluxia, who was caught off guard. Saix trapped Marluxia against the wall, staring coolly at him. Saix allowed himself a tiny smile of satisfaction at making Marluxia squirm uncomfortably.

"W…What?" Marluxia demanded.

"We are going. Now."

Marluxia swallowed, but didn't move despite the dark glare Saix sent him. "I…well, that is…" Marluxia broke off, eyes widening and focusing on something behind Saix.

Knowing Marluxia wasn't joking around, Saix grabbed Marluxia and leapt away, landing several paces from where they had been. Saix let go of Marluxia and summoned his claymore, eyeing what had managed to sneak up behind him so quietly with a calculating look. It looked like a half behemoth, half dog Heartless, which had begun to growl steadily at the sight of the two Nobodies.

"What is it?" Marluxia questioned, summoning his scythe and leaning on it, staring at the Heartless uncertainly.

"Some kind of hybrid Heartless. It doesn't seem to be native to this area." Saix intoned, still staring at said Heartless.

Marluxia rolled his eyes, "None of the Heartless are native. They just show up."

"Yes, but certain Heartless seem to be attracted to particular places. I don't recall this one ever making an appearance in the Underworld." Saix responded.

"What about the Shadow Heartless? They appear all over the place. And I've never seen a Heartless like this one before." Marluxia jabbed his scythe in the creature's direction.

"There are exceptions. It's coming now." Saix brought his claymore into a ready position.

Marluxia swung his scythe and gripped it, eyeing the now salivating Heartless warily, deciding now wasn't the time to get into an argument with Saix. Something didn't seem right, but Marluxia couldn't figure out why. Shaking his head, he asked, "Do we fight it directly or indirectly?"

Saix was still staring at the Heartless, "Send an attack at it from a distance. We'll wait and see how it reacts."

Marluxia nodded in acknowledgement, but still seemed uncertain as he prepared an attack.

121121

Meanwhile…

Larxene prowled the castle, torn between beating the daylights out of Axel and Roxas, or waiting and seeing what the vial would do to Xemnas. Larxene stalked into a lounge room, and sat down on a couch with an annoyed huff. She hated waiting, and didn't even know whether what would happen to Xemnas would be worth allowing Axel and Roxas to avoid some…punishment. Larxene glanced sideways, noticing that there was a stack of books on top of the table closest to her. Larxene reached out and plucked the topmost book from the pile and stared at the books' title.

'_Which plant is for you?_ _Author unknown.'_

Larxene rolled her eyes, but opened the book to where a bookmark had been placed. _'Marluxia must have bee reading this. What a nature freak…' _ Larxene stared at the marked page, then began to smile wickedly, "Oh, Marluxia, the Superior will kill you if he finds out you want this plant." Larxene continued to smile as she read over the description of the plant. Larxene paused at the last sentence, which was followed by a scribble in Marluxia's handwriting.

'_The Ralawa plant is considered harmless, unless it is introduced to someone the owner hates or dislikes greatly.'_

_**Get plant as soon as possible. Zexion and Axel will regret messing with me.**_

Larxene closed the book and set it aside. She would bother Marluxia later about why he hadn't told her about the plant yet. But it did answer why Marluxia hadn't been trying to cause trouble, at least for now. Larxene picked up the next book from the pile, entitled _'Ways to please a lady.'_ Larxene chucked the book away to a corner of the room, promising excruciating pain to whomever had been reading it. She was fairly sure it was a certain someone wearing an eyepatch. "Sick bastard…" Larxene muttered, reaching for another book.

_Variants of playing strings._ Demyx's book probably. The book was put on another table.

_Strategies to a perfect poker game. _Luxord's. No wonder that British creep was increasing his winnings more than usual. Larxene dropped the book on top of Marluxia's.

_The Scientist's daily dose. _Vexen. Larxene shrugged and dropped it on top of Demyx's book. Did the Chilly Academic think of nothing other than science? And experiments?

Larxene chucked a few more books around randomly, before staring at the last two.

_World Domination: Step by step._

_What is a heart?_

Larxene grinned at the first book, but frowned at the last one. Why would Xemnas be reading that? Didn't he already know what a heart was, and maybe just kept the book? Stupid. Larxene tossed the book away, but was surprised by the sight of Xemnas diving to catch the book with a wail of, "Nooo! What do you think you're doing?!"

Larxene stared as Xemnas clutched the book to his body and pet it as though it were alive. Larxene bit her lip at Xemnas' fashion choice, trying very hard not to laugh. He was wearing a black cloak over his shoulders, covering his bare upper half. He still wore his boots, but only wore boxers with hearts shapes on them. Larxene was having difficulty not laughing. Had Xemnas drank what was in the vial?

121

Xaldin had left Lexaeus and Vexen to deal with the remaining plants, while he went to report to Xemnas. He had managed to break away from the plants with Vexen's help. He had chased after the offending plants, stabbing them. How dare they attempt to dirty him with their disgusting fondling? Xaldin shook away those unpleasant thoughts.

Not finding Xemnas in his office/room, Xaldin headed down to the lounge, where he found the Superior scolding an amused Larxene.

"…never throw this book like that again! You traumatized it!" Xemnas raged, attempting to be intimidating, but failing miserably because his fashion choice diminished the effect.

"…" Xaldin didn't know what to say, so he merely waited there, waiting to see what would happen next.

Xemnas, however, merely glared at Larxene before stalking off, clutching the book tightly.

Axel and Roxas had been watching the scene in bafflement. Once Xemnas was gone, they entered the lounge cautiously, keeping a wary eye on Larxene.

Larxene fixed them with an icy glare, before speaking scathingly to Axel, "I thought the vial was supposed to make him dangerously happy or something. What's going on?"

Axel ran a hand through his hair and smiled ruefully, "Well, I read the description, but only the first half of it…"

"What were you doing in Vexen's lab? Did you take something without his permission?" Xaldin questioned, deciding to make his presence known.

Roxas ducked behind Axel, "Now what do we do?" He hissed urgently.

Axel laughed nervously, before answering Xaldin, "Well…you see…we were only seeing how far Vexen had got on those antidotes, and before he kicked us out, I took the vial because it sounded like something Xemnas should have…"

"What was the vial labeled as?" Xaldin questioned, while wondering how Axel and Roxas kept getting into the lab after being kicked out repeatedly by Vexen. Xaldin listened as Axel told him what the label had said, and Xaldin heaved a sigh of annoyance, "Of course you'd pick one that lasts the longest…"

"Er…why isn't he happy? He seemed upset…" Roxas questioned softly.

"It should cause excessive happiness, but it can also cause extreme mood swings if the individual who drank from the vial sees something they care about being threatened." Xaldin responded.

Larxene crossed her arms, "So, since Axel didn't read the whole description, is there anything else about what that vial can do?"

Xaldin pondered for a minute before replying, "…yes, there is. Don't let him eat any Sea-Salt ice cream. It could cause the Superior to become delusional."

"Isn't he already?" Axel asked off-handedly, twiddling his fingers. Axel suppressed a flinch after earning a dark look from Xaldin.

There was a loud crash, which caused Axel and Roxas to turn their heads simultaneously. They then glanced at one another quickly. Then, without warning, they dashed off away from where the crash had originated.

"Hey! Where are you two going? I wasn't through with you yet!" Xaldin called after the two retreating figures.

"Uh…I just remembered that I left a candle on in my room!" Roxas yelled back.

"And…I'm going to go help him put it out!" Axel added.

Xaldin frowned, and then headed in the direction of the crashing sound.

Larxene followed after Axel and Roxas in silence.

Complete silence, then…

"ROXAS! AXEL! WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

121

Xemnas had locked himself in his room, seeming to forget that portals gave easy access to anywhere in the castle. There was a certain amount of respect between all of the members of Organization XIII, meaning that none of the members would go in each others' rooms without permission. In Xemnas' current state, breaking that rule seemed the right thing to do, to make sure that he wouldn't hurt himself. Unfortunately, no one was going to check on him at the moment.

Xemnas placed the book gently on a table, and stared out the window at Kingdom Hearts. Xemnas gazed at it, the sight seeming to calm him and make him feel better. Xemnas' eyes caught movement outside a window, so he moved outside to a balcony. Glancing around, he frowned in confusion. He could have sworn there had been something outside his room. Xemnas leaned on the railing and gazed back at Kingdom Hearts. There was something different about it, but he couldn't place it.

Soft music seemed to be playing, and Xemnas began to sway along with it to the beat. It seemed almost as if he were in a dream. Feeling more cheerful than usual, he began singing softly, something he would never normally do, but, for some unknown reason, it seemed the right thing to do at the moment.

Unbeknownst to Xemnas, Axel and Roxas were taking pictures and video recordings for future reference. They both had a hard time not laughing, because Xemnas looked funny as he swayed and sang.

Xemnas, oblivious, merely enjoyed the peaceful surroundings…

121

Xaldin was fuming outside the lounge, where a chandelier lay broken, water flowing out from the hole in the ceiling. Xaldin massaged his forehead. Axel and Roxas needed to be wrapped in bubble wrap and locked in a room to keep them from destroying things that they touched.

121

Lexaeus surveyed the now empty room, wondering what he should do now. Shrugging, he exited the room, deciding that he would patrol the castle for a little while. Lexaeus doubted there would be any problems, but there could be some Heartless the minor Nobodies missed.

121

Vexen was back in his laboratory, starting to attempt the antidote once again. As he began mixing things together and writing down calculations, Vexen hoped that he wouldn't be interrupted again.

121121

Marluxia sent an attack flying at the hybrid behemoth/dog Heartless, which took the attack to its chest. It had been a direct hit, but all it did was make the Heartless blink and tilt its head. Marluxia spat out a curse and shot a glance over at Saix, "Well?"

"It seems to have a very thick hide. Direct, physical attacks seem to be the best course of action. Cover me!" Saix dashed forward, claymore out of its normal state and poised to attack.

Marluxia swore again and shadowed Saix's movements to try and keep up with the berserker. If he made it out of this in one piece, he was going to do something to get back at Xemnas for making him be stuck with a crazy berserker for a fighting partner.

121

Zexion's furry, elongated ears were pressed flat against his head, wincing as he was jostled in the enormous Heatless' maw. There wasn't really anything he could do, and if he squirmed around too much, the jaw would close on him more tightly. It was times like these that his weapon, the Lexicon, infuriated him. It wasn't much use to him when he was surrounded by sharp, pointy teeth. Zexion's only hope was Demyx and Sai.

Zexion hung his head. He was doomed unless they did something, and soon.

121

Demyx and Sai followed after the Heartless and Zexion as best they could, but had ended up further and further away.

"Demyx? What should we do when we catch up?" Sai questioned, his claymore away for the time being.

Demyx was silent as he thought. Trying to ignore his tail swinging back and forth, Demyx answered, "Well, we need to rescue Zexion. I'm not sure hitting the Heartless with water would hurt it in the least bit…so…I think you'll need to fight it Sai. Not for a very long time though. I'll distract it long enough for Zexion to get away from it. I could get a few of my Dancer Nobodies to attack the Heartless' face…that might get it to drop Zexion…"

Sai frowned as he kept pace with Demyx, "What do we do if that doesn't work?"

Demyx shrugged, peering up ahead, before letting out a frustrated sigh and stopping abruptly.

Sai wondered what was wrong as he stopped next to Demyx. Then he noticed that the Heartless and Zexion were nowhere in view.

"Darn it! How are we supposed to find them now? There are too many corridors in the Underworld." Demyx complained. As soon as he finished saying this, several Heartless appeared, surrounding him and Sai.

Sai summoned his weapon, but Demyx placed a restraining hand on his shoulder, "What?" Sai questioned.

"Try and locate that Heartless and Zexion. I can take care of these guys." Demyx responded, removing his hand and raising it into the air to summon his weapon of choice, the sitar. Skipping any battle cry, Demyx sent torrents of water at the Heartless, sweeping them backwards into the walls of the carven.

While Demyx kept the Heartless busy, Sai closed his eyes and attempted to locate the area the Heartless was holding Zexion…or at least the area closest to where they were.

Demyx defeated the Heartless within a few moments, and as his sitar vanished, Sai's eyes opened. "You find them?" Demyx asked tentatively, his tail twitching slightly.

Sai nodded, "Yes, they're nearby." Sai motioned to the tunnel to their left, and began to run, "This way! Follow me!" Sai ran off in the direction he had indicated, Demyx following close behind, both of them hoping that Zexion would be all right.

121

Meanwhile, Marluxia and Saix were having problems with the hybrid behemonth/dog Heartless, which seemed to have no weaknesses to speak of. Saix had hit its side with what he believed was a critical hit, but had to throw himself out of the way of the Heartless' retaliation. The attack only seemed to have irritated it rather than cause injury.

"Damn…" Marluxia muttered as he watched Saix's retreat. _'Maybe we should get out of here. It doesn't seem to be a normal heartless. Those attacks should have injured it, even if only a little.' _Swallowing his own dignity, Marluxia called across to Saix, "Saix! We should fall back and figure out a plan to deal with this. We can't beat it as we are now. We need to formulate a plan…" Marluxia stopped speaking as he saw Saix move to attack again. He wasn't listening, and was only focusing on defeating his seemingly invincible foe.

Marluxia decided that the only way to get Saix to regroup would be for Saix to be injured. If that happened, he might have a chance to grab Saix and pull him through a portal. Disliking the idea of running away, Marluxia decided it was probably the best course of action considering the circumstances. Marluxia doubted that either of them would have thought they would be facing a strong enemy when they had merely come to observe and keep an eye on Zexion and his group.

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Took a long time to update again, but the longer time period between updates seems to help me write better chapters. And if anyone noticed, I had Lexaeus helping Xaldin remove plants, not Xigbar. Which is why I'm planning to go back through the chapters I have so far and edit it to keep it accurate.

So, I have no idea when I'll update next, so, until next time, thanks for reading and/or reviewing. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.


	27. Who's doing what now?

Another update! Thanks for the reviews! This chapter is longer like the last one and was one of my favorites to type (Hopefully the spelling corrections will stay-I swear they keep disappearing on me...).

Disclaimer: Don't own anything from Kingdom Heats (2).

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Axel and Roxas were trapped. Neither of them would have pictured themselves in this position an hour earlier. It was somehow…demeaning. Not to mention downright disturbing.

"Axel?"

"Hmm?"

"How the hell did we end up like this?"

"…"

"Axel?"

"…I have no idea whatsoever."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Roxas? What's wrong?"

"…It's Xemnas. He's _staring _at me without blinking."

"I know, me too. Don't make eye contact with him."

"…"

"…"

"Axel?"

"Xemnas' smile is creeping me out."

"Me too."

"Er…what should we do?"

"Keep avoiding eye contact for one thing. We'll think of something…"

Roxas fell silent and closed his eyes to avoid being stared at by Xemnas, who was obviously not feeling at all like his old self. Roxas sighed lightly. Why, oh why, had he listened to Axel? It usually ended badly when he agreed to go along with the red-head's schemes. And this time was no exception.

And how exactly did they end up in their predicament? Because of Axel and his insistence on taking photos and videos of their Superior acting overly happy and serenading Kingdom Hearts.

121

1 hour and 30 minutes earlier…

"Roxas! You wanna help me take humiliating pictures of Xemnas?" Axel questioned cheerfully, throwing a friendly arm around Roxas' shoulders.

Roxas was reading a book, which he had almost finished with. Hence the reason he was standing up, headed for the nearest bookshelf to deposit the book. Roxas ignored Axel's arm, which was draped over his shoulder. Maybe if he kept ignoring the Flurry of Dancing Flames, he would leave him alone.

But Axel had already figured out what Roxas was trying to do. So, with his free hand, he plucked the book out of Roxas' grasp and held it out of reach.

Roxas wriggled free of Axel's arm and tried in vain to reclaim the book.

Axel held it just out of reach, enjoying the look of frustration on his friend's face. Axel dangled the book, smiling patronizingly, "I'll give it back if you promise to help me."

Roxas stopped trying to get his book back, glaring angrily at Axel. No fair! Why did he have to be so much taller? Roxas crossed his arms and heaved an annoyed sigh, "Fine. I'll help. Now give me back my book!"

Axel tossed the book to Roxas with a grin, "Great! Meet me outside the Superior's office in a few minutes." Axel left via portal, leaving behind an irritated Roxas.

Roxas stalked off to find the nearest bookshelf, fuming. He had a bad feeling about this. He _really_ didn't want to think what Xemnas would do if he caught them anywhere near his office a.k.a. room. Roxas stopped walking. Wait. Why did Axel want to meet outside the Superior's room? Was Xemnas…back in there?

Axel was asking for trouble again…

A few minutes later…

Roxas walked up the last few steps of the staircase, and walked down a short hall to where Xemnas' office/room was. Roxas found Axel waiting for him, holding a bag of cameras and a video camera. Roxas shook his head as Axel handed him the video camera, "Why are we doing this again? You did know that things could go seriously wrong, right?"

Axel dug a camera out of the bag and shot Roxas a smirk, "Because, how often does Xemnas not know what's going on?"

Roxas eyes Axel doubtfully. Somehow, this idea was getting worse and worse. What if Xemnas caught them? "Axel, I'm really not sure we should be doing this…"

Axel pouted, "Aww, Roxas, don't be that way…" Axel grabbed a box, "Besides, if you help me, you can have these while we have fun at Xemnas' expense."

Roxas grit his teeth as Axel withdrew a sea-salt ice cream from the box and waved it. Roxas looked away. No. He wouldn't be tricked that easily.

The sea-salt ice cream appeared in front of his face as he valiantly tried to ignore it.

Axel smirked as he held the ice cream closer to Roxas' face. He wouldn't be able to resist the ice cream for much longer, "How long can you resist temptation Roxas," He teased. Axel held back a laugh as Roxas snatched the ice cream with a growl of annoyance at the red-head. Axel backed up slightly as Roxas turned to face him.

Roxas mock-glared at Axel, "Jerk, Tricking me…" Roxas stuffed the ice cream into his mouth and picked up the video camera, "Mmph that mm mish good...mff. Damn you Axel…using ice cream." Roxas grumbled angrily. How dare Axel use ice cream to bait him!

Axel held up a free hand and opened a portal, "Well, let's go Roxas."

Roxas shook his head and followed Axel through the portal.

30 minutes later…

Roxas and Axel were having a hard time not laughing at Xemnas. They had turned off a radio which had been playing soft music, unable to keep watching and listening to Xemnas sing. It was really funny, but at the same time really wrong.

Axel poked Roxas and motioned for him to keep the camera rolling. Xemnas was still singing softly despite there being no music being played.

"Axel, this is beginning to get disturbing, "Roxas murmured, focusing the video camera on the singing Xemnas.

"Well, yeah, but it's funny, "Axel responded. He snapped a picture, and then added, "Don't worry Roxas."

Roxas turned his attention to his friend, "Don't you think we've taped and took enough pictures? What if he notices?"

Axel cast a sideways glance at Roxas, "See? You worry too much. It's fine. We'll tape and catch a few more pictures, then leave."

"If you say so," Roxas said with a sigh.

15 minutes later…

Xemnas drifted off from singing, glancing around his balcony. The music had stopped and he was wondering what he had been doing. Xemnas narrowed his eyes. Someone was watching him. How _dare_ they. There was going to be some punishment for disturbing his alone time with Kingdom Hearts. He would protect himself and Kingdom Hearts from the intrusion.

Xemnas clenched a hand, focusing some power to create a globe of nothingness and closed his eyes to try and zero in on what he was sensing. It took a few moments, but Xemnas launched his attack, barely giving the targets time to move their cameras and video camera out of the way of the attack, taking it themselves.

SHACRASH-BOOM. CLATTER. SMACK.

Axel and Roxas lay sprawled on the balcony, momentarily stunned from the sudden attack. Neither had noticed that Xemnas had known of their presence. Roxas fell unconscious, his head spinning form the high fall. Stupid Axel and his ideas.

Axel remained conscious, but unable to make any movements, because Xemnas' attack had managed to immobilize him, as well as Roxas. No wonder Roxas had fainted. Axel rested his head on the ground as he heard footsteps approaching him.

"No one gets away with interrupting me when I'm alone. That merits punishment," Xemnas commented, as he stopped in front of the immobilized Axel and Roxas.

Axel lifted his head slightly, let out a weak, amused laugh, before falling unconscious as well. Damn it. He hated it when Roxas was right.

121

This brought them back to their current situation.

Axel had been the first one to regain consciousness and had immediately regretted it. He and Roxas were bound by their hand by tendrils of darkness and were being dangled over the balcony, so that they were level with Xemnas, allowing him to easily glare at them. Axel found that he could touch the balcony ground slightly, while Roxas couldn't.

When Roxas had woken up, he was extremely irritated with Axel, but couldn't stay that way because of Xemnas staring creepily at him. Roxas tugged at the tendrils holding his hands over his head. This was really annoying, and worst of all, no one knew they were here.

Xemnas had gone away from the balcony after a few more minutes of staring, back to his room (no doubt to find something to punish them with).

Roxas and Axel had begun to converse in low tones about how to deal with this problem.

"He said he was going to _punish_ us Axel! We need to get free somehow!"

"What do you suggest? I can't get my hands free and neither can you."

"This whole thing was _your_ idea. You figure it out."

"Come on Roxas, help me out."

"…"

"Roxas?"

"What about fire?"

"…you want to be burnt to a crisp?"

"Maybe not."

"…"

"What about Xaldin, Lexaeus or Larxene?"

"They aren't exactly around, are they?"

"Could we get a Dusk to find them?"

"…"

"Axel?"

"That could work, I suppose. As long as the Dusk found one of them, and they could get here before Xemnas can 'punish' us."

"Well? Get a Dusk to show up then! I can't summon them if I can't concentrate." Roxas grumbled.

"Oh? Oh! Right, here goes." Axel responded, before calling out in a loud whisper, "Hey! If there's a Dusk nearby, come on out."

Roxas rolled his eyes.

A few moments passed, before a Dusk suddenly appeared in front of the two Nobodies.

Axel pretended not to be relieved as he issued orders to the Dusk, "Go find Lexaeus, Xaldin or Larxene. Tell them that Axel and Roxas need some assistance, because Xemnas is trying to punish us for something we didn't do."

The Dusk quivered, before vanishing.

Roxas and Axel eyed the balcony entrance nervously.

"I hope someone can get here in time."

"Me too. I don't want to know what the punishment is that Xemnas was talking about."

"Just hope the Dusk remembers the orders."

"…"

"Axel?"

"I hope so."

121

Lexaeus had completed his sentry duty around the castle and its grounds and had decided that everything was all right. Lexaeus was about to go check on Vexen, when the Dusk Axel had sent appeared in front of him. Lexaeus stared at it for a few seconds, before speaking, "Yes, what is it?" He was used to minor Nobodies showing up out of nowhere. It must have some message or it wouldn't bother to appear.

_Number eight would like assistance. The Superior seems to not be in his right mind and is trying to punish him and number thirteen. _The Dusk relayed to Lexaeus.

Lexaeus wondered what Roxas and Axel had done this time to bother Xemnas, "Where are they?"

_The Superior's room. Above the balcony. _The Dusk responded, before vanishing, its job done.

Lexaeus created a portal that would take him to the Superior's balcony, wondering what he would find when he arrived. Lexaeus stepped through the portal and then exited, coming out onto another balcony near Xemnas' balcony.

Lexaeus caught sight of Axel and Roxas tied up, and saw the oddly dressed Xemnas menacing them both with a whip, as well as reading prose from the book he had rescued, entitled 'What is a Heart.' Lexaeus watched in silence for a moment. He had no idea what was going on, but decided to intervene when Xemnas raised the evil-looking whip.

Roxas and Axel braced themselves and closed their eyes as the whip came closer to them. When it didn't connect, they opened their eyes cautiously to see what had stopped the beating.

Lexaeus had grabbed the end of the whip with one hand, effectively immobilizing it.

Xemnas tugged on the whip uselessly, trying to get it out of Lexaeus' grasp, "Number five! Let go!"

"What reason do you have to beat Axel and Roxas? Surely they didn't do anything that bad." Lexaeus responded, not letting go of the whip.

"They were intruding. They came into my room without permission. They distracted me from paying attention to Kingdom Hearts," Xemnas responded, straining to get the whip away from Lexaeus.

"Superior, I understand that it is impolite to trespass in other members rooms, but it doesn't give you the right to hurt them." Lexaeus answered.

Xemnas released the whip and clutched the book he was holding tightly, "Well…you're interrupting my punishment time. Leave or I will include you as well."

But Lexaeus was ignoring him and had set about releasing Axel and Roxas. He grabbed both of them by their hoods and held on tight to prevent their escape, "Not so fast. We're going to have a little chat first." Lexaeus promptly created a portal and dragged the two other Nobodies with them, leaving behind Xemnas, who stayed on the balcony, looking extremely confused.

Xemnas frowned in disappointment. They had escaped. Oh well, they would be dealt with later. Xemnas frown changed into a happy one as he caught sight of Kingdom Hearts again. When he stared at it, he forgot all about the punishments he was going to inflict on Axel and Roxas. The sight of it put him at peace…as well as getting him in a happy mood again.

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Marluxia was struggling to walk while half-carrying a senseless Saix, who would twitch occasionally and growl several un understandable words.

Damn it all to nothingness!

Marluxia halted in a fork in the caverns of the Underworld and shifted slightly to lean Saix against the cavern wall. Marluxia stretched, wondering why Saix was so heavy. He didn't look like it…

Marluxia scowled. His trench coat was torn in several places, he had scratches all over his body and his left hand was throbbing painfully. Marluxia glared down at the unconscious Saix furiously. The injuries weren't from the Heartless. Oh no. It was from his own comrade when he, Marluxia, had pulled him out of danger's way.

30 minutes earlier…

Marluxia was amazed that Saix could keep fighting with all of the injuries he had sustained. So much for escaping and formulating a plan. Saix was going to get himself destroyed before even thinking of retreat. And Xemnas would blame him if anything happened to the Luna Diviner. That was it. No more waiting.

Saix leapt back away from the enormous Heartless, claymore clutched tightly in one hand. Why wouldn't this Heartless drop dead already? Saix prepared for another attack, when something grabbed him from behind and pulled him through a portal.

Saix, his senses still not recovered from his berserker state, promptly began attacking his unknown assailant once they emerged form the portal. Whoever it was would regret interrupting him.

Marluxia managed to dodge most of Saix's attacks, but his cloak and body still got torn up in several places. Marluxia dodged another swipe from Saix's claymore, but wasn't able to dodge when Saix grabbed his left hand rather tightly. Marluxia clenched his teeth as Saix let go and hit the hand with his claymore. Marluxia choked back a pained cry and summoned his scythe, waiting for an opening.

When Saix let down his guard, Marluxia brought the hilt of the scythe crashing down onto his head, stunning the berserker. Another smack knocked out the Luna Diviner, who crumpled to the ground.

Marluxia allowed his scythe to vanish, before he stooped down to half pick up the unconscious Saix. He then proceeded to walk along one of the many caverns of the Underworld.

Back to present time…

Marluxia scowled down at Saix, who was moaning and murmuring nonsense words as he came closer to waking up. Marluxia frowned. How would Saix react? Would he remember what happened? Oh well, only one way to find out and that was for Saix to wake up. Marluxia leaned against the carven wall as well, opposite of Saix, to wait for the other to wake up.

A few minutes later, Saix slowly came to, letting out a low moan as he felt his head gingerly where Marluxia had struck him. Saix looked around, appearing confused. He remembered that he had been fighting the hybrid behemoth/dog Heartless, but didn't remember much after that. Had he destroyed the Heartless and fallen unconscious? Saix caught sight of a dishelved and beaten-up Marluxia.

Saix frowned. What had happened to him? Did he get in the way of the Heartless? Still touching his head gingerly, he spoke, "Number eleven…what happened? Is the Heartless destroyed?" Why was Marluxia glaring at him like that?

Marluxia kept his temper in check, deciding that it wouldn't be a good idea when talking to Saix, "We were fighting that enormous Heartless, but I was telling you that we should fall back and regroup, but you weren't listening to me. You kept attacking it, but you were the only one being injured. When you backed away enough, I grabbed you and used a portal to get a good distance away from the heartless."

Saix frowned in faint annoyance at Marluxia, and then questioned, "Why are you injured? You haven't answered that yet number eleven."

"You did this to me when we got out of the portal. I had to knock you out so that you wouldn't destroy me." Marluxia responded venomously.

Saix refrained from arguing, and decided to focus on dealing with the Heartless, ignoring the seething Marluxia, who was currently cradling his injured left hand. "Direct and indirect attacks from the two of us didn't seem to do anything to it. Perhaps Xaldin and Xigbar would be able to deal with it along with me. If the three of us fought it…"

Marluxia resisted the urge to punch Saix because the Luna Diviner had just basically written him off as useless. Plus, his hand hurt too much anyway. At least, until he heard Saix's next sentence.

"I will get Xaldin and Xigbar. You will follow after Zexion, Demyx and the replica. Don't forget that that was our original mission. That is an order."

Marluxia shot a look of pure loathing at the Luna Diviner, before creating a portal and stepping through it, trying to appear near where the other Nobodies were. Damn Saix. How dare he order him around! He wasn't the Superior. But…Marluxia frowned. Saix would report him if he didn't do as he was told.

Marluxia came out of the portal, directly in the middle of a spacious cavern. Marluxia looked around it with a bored expression. At least, until the large dog Heartless came running into the room with Zexion held tightly in its jaws. Marluxia was surprised for a few moments, before he recovered. Well, damn. This wasn't very convenient. He hadn't expected to find anyone this quickly.

"Marluxia? What are you doing here?" Zexion called down in surprise, wondering why the Graceful Assassin was in the Underworld.

Marluxia didn't respond, because the Heartless had begun to chase him, "Curse you Saix!"

121

Saix portaled back to the castle in the World that Never Was, to track down Xaldin and Xigbar to assist him.

121121

Axel and Roxas were sitting on a couch in a lounge, silent as Lexaeus studied them in silence as well. He was about to question them when Xaldin stormed into the room. Axel and Roxas both shrank against the couch as he approached them.

"What happened to the chandelier?" Xaldin questioned, before his expression changed to confusion at the two's weary and beaten-up state, "What happened to you two?"

"The Superior was whipping them…and…reading to them from a book about hearts," Lexaeus supplied, when neither Axel nor Roxas spoke up.

Xaldin shook his head irritably, "So you were spying on the Superior and got caught." Xaldin turned to Lexaeus, "These two stole a vial from Vexen's laboratory and tricked Xemnas into ingesting it. It was the one that makes the person overly happy, but also subject to mood swings."

"Hmm…that would explain the position I found them in," Lexaeus responded. He glanced casually over at Xaldin, a faint smile threatening to show up, "What about a chandelier?"

Upon being reminded, Xaldin turned to glare at the couch, only to find that it had been vacated, "Where did they go?"

Lexaeus noticed the swish of cloaks going around the corner of a door. "Would you like me to go get them?"

"If you would," Xaldin responded. He watched as Lexaeus went off in pursuit of Axel and Roxas. He was about to sit down when Saix appeared in the lounge room before him. Xaldin took in Saix's appearance silently, "Run into some trouble Number seven?"

Saix bared his teeth at the Whirlwind Lancer, ignoring the light sarcasm, "A different, larger breed of Heartless. I have Xigbar going on ahead to distract it. I would like you to assist us as well."

Xaldin decided that Axel and Roxas would probably evade capture for awhile, so helping Saix and Xigbar wouldn't be so bad, "Very well, let's go then."

Saix opened a portal and stepped through it, followed by Xaldin.

The chandelier incident would have to be dealt with later.

121

Larxene had managed to avoid the activity that had been happening so far, and decided that, for the time being, she wanted it to stay that way. Larxene lay on her bed, mentally tallying off where everyone else in the organization was.

Xemnas was in his room/office, doing who knows what, with that vial he had drunk earlier.

Xigbar and Xaldin weren't in the castle at the moment, so she didn't know where they were exactly.

Vexen was down in his laboratory, working on antidotes for Demyx and Zexion's 'problems.'

Lexaeus was still in the castle, but didn't know what he was up to.

Zexion was on his mission.

Saix was away, trailing Zexion.

Axel was still in the castle, up to no good, no doubt about that.

Demyx was on the mission with Zexion.

Luxord…he was somewhere in the castle as well.

Marluxia was out of the castle as well, which was odd, since she thought he didn't have a mission.

She, of course, was in her room.

Roxas was probably stirring up some trouble with Axel.

So, the question at the moment? What should she do? Bother the estranged Xemnas? Intervene on Zexion's mission? Pester Vexen? Find out what Lexaeus and Luxord were up to? Locate Marluxia? Beat the ever-loving crap out of Axel and Roxas?

Larxene sat up on her bed and stared at the ceiling. The last thought sounded the most entertaining, but then she decided she was more curious about where the Graceful Assassin was. With that decision, Larxene stood up and left her room through a portal.

Now…where could Marluxia have slunk off to?

121

"Axel?"

"…what?"

"Why are we hiding?"

"You want Lexaeus to drag us back so that we can get a scolding from Xaldin about destroying castle property?"

"…You were the one that broke the chandelier Axel."

"Details, details."

"…"

"…"

"Axel?"

"Hmm?"

"Why are we back in Vexen's laboratory?"

"Because, the assumption would be that we wouldn't be dumb enough to hide here."

"…"

"What're you glaring at me for? Relax. Nothing bad is going to happen."

"I hope so. This really does seem like a stupid idea."

"Don't be such a pessimist Roxas."

"I'm not. I'm being practical."

"…"

"…"

"Is it just me, or is it a little chillier than before?"

"…"

"Roxas?"

"I hope you're imagining things."

"How come?"

"Because if it is colder, that would mean that Vexen's angry with us and knows we're here."

Axel gave a small, nervous laugh, "Don't jinx us man."

"I'm not."

"…"

"…"

"It is colder, isn't it Axel."

"It's not judgment day is it?"

"No."

"No, that would have to be when Xemnas loses his mind."

"Hasn't he?"

"When he loses it without help."

"Hmm…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Roxas…do you hear teeth grinding?"

"I…I think so…was that something breaking just now?"

"Yeah…"

"…"

"…"

"I have a bad feeling."

"Me too…"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?!" An angry screech rang out from behind the two hiding Nobodies.

Axel and Roxas glanced behind themselves, before trying to run away, only to be caught by being hit with chunks of ice hurled with deadly precision. Both of them collapsed on the ground for the second time that day, Roxas already unconscious. Axel followed soon after, weakly laughing, "I hate de ja vu."

121121

Marluxia was currently cursing his unfortunate position. He was pinned against the cavern wall by one of the dog Heartless' large paws, making it impossible for him to summon his scythe. He was irritated that Zexion somehow found his predicament amusing.

"So…since you're not going anywhere anytime soon, what are you doing here Marluxia?" Zexion queried, staring at the Graceful Assassin with something akin to amusement.

Marluxia threw the smaller Nobody a dirty look before responding, "Xemnas ordered Saix to take me with him to keep an eye on your progress on the mission."

Zexion frowned. Xemnas didn't trust him then? "Well, where's Saix?"

"Dealing with a very strong Heartless. He went to get some backup." Marluxia responded. Looking around, and unsuccessfully trying to get away from the Heartless' paw, questioned, "Where are Demyx and the replica? Lost them, have you?"

Zexion was about to snap back a reply when someone beat him to it.

"There you are Marluxia. What are you doing in the Underworld?"

"Larxene?" Was everyone in the organization coming to spy on him? Zexion stared as Larxene came to a halt a hundred feet or so from the Heartless.

"Need some help?" She asked,

"No…" Marluxia grumbled as he freed his right arm and summoned his scythe. Swinging it he scored a hit on the Heartless' wrist, causing it to draw back and release him. Marluxia grasped the scythe and smirked faintly at Larxene, "You may assist me in destroying the Heartless. Don't hit Zexion too much."

"W..What?! Don't hit me at all!"

"All right."

"H…hey! Wait!"

121

Saix was furious, holding onto his sanity by a thread. This behemoth/dog Heartless was infuriating. What was its body made of? He was following Xaldin's advice of keeping his wits about him. Neither he nor Xigbar had managed to injure the Heartless in the slightest.

"Is this really even a Heartless? It's tougher than other higher level ones." Xigbar commented as he shot some gun arrows at the creature, making it shake its head as though annoyed by the attack. No damage.

"Did Xemnas mention anything about a new type of Heartless?" Xaldin called over to Saix, hoping he would stay out of berserker mode for a little while longer.

"No, he didn't. He only wanted myself and Marluxia to keep an eye on Zexion and Demyx, as well as the replica of myself." Saix responded, blocking another attack with his claymore.

"Maybe we should fall back and see if Vexen has anything that could help us with this battle." Xaldin suggested, blocking an aerial attack easily with his lances.

"Want me to go?' Xigbar asked.

"No, I will." Xaldin responded, creating a portal and leaving the underworld. He reappeared in Vexen's lab and into a rather odd predicament for Axel and Roxas.

Roxas had been encased in a block of ice, and Axel was wet, seemingly having unthawed himself with fire. He was currently threatening Vexen with a handful of flames, saying he'd set him on fire if he didn't release Roxas from the icy block.

"Excuse me!" Xaldin announced loudly enough to grab Axel and Vexen's attention, "Vexen, I'd like to speak with you. If you would release Roxas…"

Vexen frowned unhappily, but, with a wave of his hand, freed Roxas in a shower of ice chunks.

Axel hurried over to his friend's side to check on him, while Xaldin conversed with Vexen about any possible help they could get in their fight with the enormous heartless.

Axel located a blanket and draped it around Roxas, who was shivering uncontrollably.

Roxas clutched the blanket tightly, punching Axel slightly as he did, "I t-t-told you that w-was a bad i-idea."

"Sorry," Axel replied, looking away sheepishly.

"S'fine." Roxas couldn't remain angry. He was too cold.

Since Xaldin and Vexen were still talking, Axel led Roxas out of the laboratory in search of a fire place so that Roxas could warm up.

"We are n-never going to hide in the l-lab again."

"Yeah…probably a good idea."

"Axel?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks for trying to protect me. Y-you didn't have to get frozen t-too. He was aiming at me."

"Don't worry about it. I can use fire to unthaw myself. You were lucky Xaldin came when he did."

"I guess do. What if h-he didn't though?"

"You'd be a Roxipopsicle." Axel offered with a straight face.

Roxas glared at him.

"Well, I _was_ threatening to set him on fire if he didn't let you go. Then Xaldin came."

"…"

"What?"

"You probably shouldn't go anywhere near Vexen for awhile, especially after threatening him like that." Roxas commented.

"Ugh, you're right…so…you feeling any better? Still cold?" Axel questioned as he and Roxas entered another lounge.

"Yes."

"Here, sit in this chair," Axel steered Roxas to a chair that was seated directly in front of a large fireplace. Once Roxas had sat down, Axel went over to the fire place and, snapping, made a crackling fire appear.

Roxas held his hands out to the fire, beginning to warm up slightly.

Axel sat down on another chair, glancing around occasionally.

"Axel, quit it. We'll hear if anyone comes into the room."

Axel settled in the chair, sighing, "I suppose you're right."

"I know, so you should listen to me more often."

"You're no fun."

"I like safe fun Axel."

"It _was_ safe…sort of."

"Being whipped by Xemnas is safe?" Roxas asked incredulously.

"Please, don't mention that. I was trying to forget it. It was like he was enjoying whipping us. I hope I don't get scars…"

"…"

"Roxas?"

"Would he have kept whipping us, if Lexaeus hadn't come and rescued us?" Roxas wondered.

Axel shrugged, "Either that, or he would have kept reading from that book."

"…I don't want to even think of what he could have done to us…"

Axel laughed, "He's only happy Roxas. It's not like that vial turned him into a sex fiend."

Roxas' face paled, "Never say that again."

"What?"

"Never mind…"

Axel looked away with a smirk, and said, "Sex fiend."

"Axel! What did I just tell you?"

Roxas and Axel bickered with one another for awhile, neither noticing that Lexaeus had entered the room.

"Axel. Roxas."

Both fell silent, looking at Lexaeus, who was standing between the chairs they were on.

"Oh, hey. Didn't see you there." Axel stated calmly.

"What were you two arguing about? And what happened to you two? You're both wet," Lexaeus questioned.

"Well, you see, we were hiding from you in Vexen's laboratory, but he found us and froze us. Xaldin's talking to him at the moment, and right now, Roxas is trying to warm up," Axel responded.

"And your argument?" Lexaeus prompted.

Roxas refused to answer, so Axel spoke instead, "We were talking about Xemnas whipping us, and then Roxas was wondering what would have happened if you hadn't rescued us. So, I told him that the vial was just to make him happy, and that it wouldn't turn Xemnas into a sex fiend."

Lexaeus shook his head, unsure whether to be amused or not, "I see why Roxas is silent. Number eight, as a higher rank, I forbid you from uttering those two words in context with one another. Understand?"

Axel nodded, and watched as Lexaeus left the room. When Lexaeus was gone, Axel turned his attention to Roxas, smiling wryly. Then, in a serious tone, he said, "Number thirteen, as a higher rank, I forbid you from being an idiot."

The blanket hit Axel in the face as Roxas snapped back a response, "And I forbid you from being a smartass."

"Don't be abusive," Came Axel's muffled voice, as he shook the blanket off his head, grinning.

Silence, then…

"S-E-X-F-I-E-N-D. Got it memorized?"

SMACK.

"Oww…you have no sense of humor, you know that Roxas?"

"Don't be disgusting then!"

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Whoo! Long chapter! How did it turn out? No idea why I had Xemnas find a whip...that's kind of creepy...

Ah, my favorite word had to have been Roxipopsicle. For some reason that made me grin when I typed it. As well as the whole 'sex fiend' conversation. I could totally see Axel saying the 'got it memorized' part just to bother Roxas. I do hope to update before school starts, but I'll see how far I get with the next chapter.

So, until next time, thanks for reading and/or reviewing!


	28. The Spectacles

Homework + work + deadlines for homework less update time. But hey, I managed to update! And I hope to update again sooner, because even though I wasn't able to type, I have been able to write. So, I have at least two - four chapters that are in a notebook. So, I'll type it up when I have more free time. Hopefully the site didn't mess with my spelling corrections.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts (2).

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Xemnas was plotting again.

No, not about Kingdom Hearts and other ideas to help the process of regaining their hearts. No, that wasn't what was on Xemnas' mind. It was something much less sinister.

He was trying to figure out how to share his new found happiness with the rest of the organization. It was, however, proving difficult to figure out how to get everyone involved without making anyone upset. Xemnas wanted whatever he was going to do to bring out only one 'emotion' in the others. Happiness.

What to do, what to do…

Should he ask Vexen's opinion, or would he be ignored? Xemnas stopped pacing to think about that. No, Vexen would hear him out. After all, he was the Superior. So then, what else should he do other than to speak with Vexen?

The thought nagged at Xemnas until he finally decided that he would worry about it later. For now, he would go and consult with Vexen. Yes…that was what he would do.

Xemnas created a portal and went through it. He had forgotten how long it took to get to Vexen's laboratory.

121

The enormous Heartless dog managed to avoid joint attacks from both Marluxia and Larxene, while also managing to keep a firm grasp on the hapless Zexion. The Heartless growled irritably as some of Larxene's kunai bounced off its hide harmlessly. It responded to the attack by sweeping a large paw at the offending Nobody. Larxene hopped nimbly backwards, landing right next to Marluxia.

Larxene scowled at the Heartless, then rounded on Marluxia to rant at him, "Why aren't my attacks getting through to it? I keep hitting it over and over, and there's no damage!"

Marluxia chose his words carefully, not in the mood to become one of Larxene's targets as well. "Maybe you need to electrify it. We should probably find Demyx. He could help you channel your electricity."

Zexion struggled in the Heartless' maw, seething, "Hey! Don't attack! I'm still trapped!" But his plea fell on deaf ears.

Marluxia and Larxene were ignoring Zexion all together, trying to figure out how to locate Demyx, as well as other means to defeat the Heartless.

"What if Demyx runs away?"

"I'll make sure to stop him and make him use water on the Heartless."

"Then I zap it."

"Need to find the idiot first."

"Dammit. I think I'll add Demyx to the list of people that need to be punished."

"…"

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing."

Larxene smirked faintly at the Graceful Assassin, "You want some punishment from me too?" She nearly purred.

A cold shiver ran down Marluxia's spine as he coughed in an attempt to clear his throat. He was also attempting to rid himself of the sudden images that had sprung unbidden to his mind, "We should concentrate on taking out this Heartless. Saix, Xaldin and Xigbar may need some assistance in taking down another one."

Larxene snickered, "What, those three can't handle it on their own?" Larxene finally noted Marluxia's battered clothing, as well as injuries, "What happened to you? Was it the other Heatless?"

Marluxia avoided eye contact as he responded, "No…it was from Saix. I had to drag him away from the Heartless before it destroyed him."

Larxene frowned, "Why did you help him?"

"…because Xemnas would probably place blame on me if I let anything happen to Saix," Marluxia responded sullenly.

"Well, you won't have to worry about Xemnas for awhile," Larxene commented.

Marluxia's expression shifted to one of confusion, "And why not?"

"He drank from a vial that Axel had tricked him into believing was from Vexen." Larxene responded. After her initial skeptism, what had happened to Xemnas was now actually quite amusing.

Marluxia was currently trying to fathom why in the worlds anyone would accept something, especially a drink, from Axel. And he voiced his opinion aloud, "Why would he touch _anything_ that Axel would try to give him?"

"Axel took it from Vexen's laboratory without permission, "Larxene answered, shaking her head, "It didn't even need to be tampered with."

Marluxia felt slightly uneasy about that, and a sense of dread was slowly sneaking up on him, "What did it do to the Superior?"

"It made him overly happy. No idea what else it might do to him, or how much it will affect how he acts. I only saw him for a moment, and he yelled at me for throwing a book," Larxene stated, smirking faintly at the memory.

Marluxia cast a quizzical look at the Savage Nymph, "Why were you throwing a book?"

Larxene locked her gaze on the dog Heartless, which had been gracious enough to allow the two Nobodies time for conversation. Larxene ignored its growls as she summoned up some kunai, "Would you like to hear about it?"

Marluxia brought up his scythe defensively, eying the Heartless as well, "Does it have anything to do with why you're here now?"

"Maybe."

Marluxia grit his teeth, "Very well, let's hear it. Try and keep the Heartless at bay. We'll just have to hope that Demyx will show up."

Meanwhile, the poor, neglected Zexion just hoped that someone would show up and _rescue_ him.

121

Demyx stood next to Sai, who was trying to relocate the direction the Heartless had run off with Zexion. "Sai?" Demyx questioned. The replica had been silent for the past few moments, listening intently.

Sai opened his eyes and indicated to the side cavern to the right, "Through there. I hear someone fighting a Heartless." Sai dashed off in the direction of the noise, Demyx following close behind, wondering what they would do if they did run into a fight.

'We'll be there soon. Hang on Zexion!' Demyx thought, determined that they would be able to assist the Cloaked Schemer.

Sai's mind was preoccupied with thoughts of rescuing Zexion, and wondering how many sea-salt ice creams he would receive as a reward for helping.

121

Xaldin created a portal, back to the Underworld and the fight he had left earlier. He had brought Vexen with him, as the Chilly Academic said that he wouldn't be sure what would be effective against the heartless without first observing it in action. Xaldin and Vexen emerged from the portal, where they found the battle falling out of their favor.

Saix was assaulting the Heartless behemoth/dog with his claymore, managing to keep it away from one side of the cavern, where Xigbar lay prone on the ground, wincing.

Xaldin went over to Xigbar and knelt next to him, "Are you all right?"

Xigbar opened his left eye and offered a small smile, "…caught me off guard. I'll be fine."

"Can you get back to the castle on your own?"

Xigbar sat up shakily and nodded, "Yeah…just give me a second…"

Xaldin straightened up and turned his attention to Vexen, who was now standing next to him, observing the Heartless with a frown on his face, but didn't say anything. Xaldin held back an impatient breath, and said, "Well Vexen? Any suggestions?" Both he and Vexen flinched as Saix was thrown across the length of the cavern, landing with a crunch, out of breath.

The Heartless turned its attention to Vexen and Xaldin, sending the message that it no longer considered the Luna Diviner to be a threat.

"Vexen?" Xaldin pressed, as he backed away, summoning some lances in a whirl of wind.

Vexen backed up as well, drawing up his shield as he did so, "I can't tell you anything based on only Saix fighting it. I need more time to evaluate it." He and Xaldin dove to either side of the cavern as the Heartless lunged at them.

When it seemed like it wouldn't get either of them, the Heartless changed its course and went for Xigbar instead, who was still trying to catch his breath.

"Xigbar! Move!" Xaldin called out.

Xigbar looked up, in time to see the Heartless bearing down on him. Xigbar let out a surprised gasp and managed to teleport away from the spot where the Heartless landed. A safe distance away, Xigbar created a portal and went back to the castle in the World that Never Was.

Saix struggled upright, dragging himself over to where his claymore had been knocked out of his grasp. Saix picked it up and stood on uncertain feet. Swaying slightly, Saix was forced to dig his claymore into the ground and lean on it to remain standing. He watched wearily as Xaldin engaged the Heartless, Vexen observing the fight, and occasionally backing him up with precisely aimed shards of ice. Saix grit his teeth as he attempted to stay upright. He needed to do _something_. There was no way Xaldin and Vexen could defeat the Heartless on their own.

Saix forced himself to stand up on his own and tugged the claymore out of the ground. He wouldn't admit defeat now. Xemnas had given him a mission, and he intended to see it through to the end. He wouldn't let a mere Heartless stop him. Saix didn't bother letting loose a battle cry, and instead dashed towards the unsuspecting Heartless, as well as his comrades, who were beginning to become weary.

121

Roxas was curled up in a chair, wrapped tightly in a warm blanket. He had moved his chair more closely to the fireplace, to feel the warmth more easily. He had dozed off a few minutes earlier, and was twitching in his sleep, murmuring drowsily every so often.

Axel had retreated to his room to finish drying off, and when he went back to the lounge, he found the slumbering Roxas on the ground, unconsciously inching closer to the fire. Axel smirked, wondering for a moment if he should leave his friend alone and hope that he didn't get hit by a stray ember. Shaking his head, Axel half-carried, half-dragged Roxas back to the chair and plopped him back onto it. Axel laughed as he dodged a punch from a sleepy Roxas.

"Mmm…leave me 'lone. Sleepy…" Roxas mumbled, snuggling deeper underneath the blanket, "Cold…"

Axel sat down on another chair and eyed Roxas, a little bit concerned. Roxas should have recovered from his encounter with Vexen and the ice. Had he been trapped in the ice for too long? Axel pondered that for a moment, glancing over at Roxas again. At least he wasn't shivering as much as he had been. Axel leaned back in the chair and mentally berated himself. He should have known better. They shouldn't have gone to Vexen's laboratory so soon after causing trouble.

Roxas turned over on the chair, drawing the blanket even more closely, still mumbling, though now it was incoherent.

Axel wondered for a moment if the mumbling was directed at him, and entertained the idea that Roxas was only pretending to be asleep to make him feel bad. Axel closed his eyes, smiling at the thought. No, if Roxas had been pretending, he would have woken up by now and scolded him already. Roxas probably wouldn't listen to his ideas for at least a couple of days, if not for weeks.

Now that Axel thought about it, spying on Xemnas had been a pretty stupid idea. As well as trying to hide in Vexen's laboratory. Axel heaved a sigh. He should probably go and clean up the area where the chandelier had fallen. At least that way, the blame and punishment might be less than if he and Roxas denied any responsibility. Axel nodded absently to himself. He'd do that. Roxas wasn't in the best of shape after all. Axel decided to let him rest while he cleaned. Opening his eyes, Axel glanced over at Roxas again. Poor kid. He'd be out of it for awhile.

Axel padded softly out of the lounge, hoping that Roxas wouldn't be too mad at him when he woke up.

Roxas turned several times in his sleep, until the inevitable happened. He fell out of the chair and hit the ground with a grunt. Still asleep, Roxas twitched and writhed frantically in his sleep, face scrunched up in fright. He started mumbling, until he started to cry out. Whatever he was dreaming about was obviously causing him discomfort.

"No! Stop! Don't do that!"

Lexaeus was passing outside the lounge and halted when Roxas had begun to cry out.

"Stop it Xemnas! It's not funny!"

Lexaeus blinked. He thought Xemnas was still in his office.

"No! Don't!"

Lexaeus entered the lounge apprehensively, and found Roxas rolling around in his sleep, in distress and still crying out. Lexaeus went over to Roxas and shook the smaller Nobody as gently as he could, "Roxas! Wake up!"

Roxas seemed to struggle with something in his dream, before finally waking up. Roxas wriggled out of his blanket and looked around wildly, before realizing that nothing was wrong. Roxas glanced up and saw Lexaeus gazing down at him, looking concerned.

"Are you all right?" Lexaeus questioned. Why had Roxas been dreaming about something involving the Superior? Did it have anything to do with when Xemnas had beaten him and Axel up?

Roxas recovered the blanket and wrapped it around himself again, still dwelling on the dream. Xemnas had been trying to get him to help him do something. Roxas couldn't remember the details, but it had almost been like helping Axel. Meaning that the outcome wouldn't be good. It had been very…disturbing. Roxas looked up at Lexaeus again, who was waiting for an answer. Roxas shook his head, "It was just a nightmare. I'm all right." Roxas shivered a bit. "I'm still a little cold though."

"I see," Lexaeus replied, turning and heading for the door, "why don't you rest up a bit more? Since Xemnas isn't in his right mind, I doubt there'll be any new missions any time soon." He left, leaving Roxas alone again.

Roxas sat back down on the chair, holding the blanket around him tightly. Like he could fall asleep after a dream like that. Roxas closed his eyes, enjoying the silence in the room. Well…there was the occasional crackle from the fire, otherwise it was quite quiet. Fire…Roxas frowned. Where was Axel? When had he left the room? Roxas heard the door open and close again, and then heard footsteps approaching him. Oh, that was probably Axel.

The footsteps halted near Roxas' chair, but no words were spoken.

Roxas kept his eyes closed, frowning ever so slightly. He would have expected Axel to start badgering him by now, since he could probably tell that he wasn't asleep anymore.

So then…why wasn't Axel talking?

121

Lexaeus bumped into Axel carrying a large piece of the broken chandelier down along the hall. Lexaeus watched Axel struggle with it for a moment before walking over and relinquishing Axel of the broken piece before he dropped it.

Axel shook his arms, sighing in relief, "Thanks."

Lexaeus shifted the piece to one shoulder, shaking his head as he did so, "Was this the part of the chandelier that Xaldin mentioned earlier?'

Axel nodded. He hadn't expected to run into anyone while he cleaned up.

"So…you're cleaning up?"

The man must have been some kind of a psychic.

Lexaeus was curious. Usually Axel and Roxas avoided the places they'd trashed to avoid repercussions.

"Yeah, I was picking it up. Roxas is still recovering, so I thought I'd try to clean it up…" Axel responded, hoping that Lexaeus wouldn't ask how the chandelier had ended up on the ground in the first place. It had actually been kind of funny and involved screwdrivers, but Axel didn't feel up to explaining it at the moment.

Lexaeus seems to be thinking along the same lines, because he didn't want to know, at least for now, "I'll take care of this. If there are any pieces too big for you to carry, leave them be. I don't need you to end up injured."

Axel nodded his head again. He didn't want to end up being cut up from the broken shards. It was too heavy to carry anyway. Axel smirked lightly, "I'll go clean up the smaller shards then. See ya!" Axel swaggered off, drawing a smile from Lexaeus.

Why was it so hard to remain angry at either Axel or Roxas?

121

Axel came back to the ruins of the chandelier, frowning. Why were there so many little shards than he remembered there being?

121

Roxas was beginning to get annoyed. And why was Axel getting so close to the chair? He had to be right in front of it by now. Roxas was curled up on the chair now, leaning against it, fed up with Axel's lack of vocals. "If you're going to say something, say it. Otherwise, leave me alone!"

Silence, but this time there was a tap on the chair.

Roxas growled something under his breath about red-heads, before opening his eyes to glare at his friend. Only…it wasn't Axel. Roxas instead found himself glaring at a somewhat confused Xemnas. The snappy comment Roxas had been going to say died in his throat. What the hell was Xemnas doing here in the lounge? "S…Superior? Wh…what?" That sounded intelligent. And why in the world was Xemnas getting so close to him? Roxas started to panic. What Axel said earlier wasn't true, right?

Xemnas' hands were on either side of the chair arms, his face within inches of Roxas' freaked-out one.

And he still wasn't freaking talking!

Xemnas' expression went from one of confusion to what he must have thought was a non-threatening, innocent smile. Which only served to scare Roxas some more.

'He's a pedophile' flickered through Roxas mind as he leaned away, swallowing nervously. It looked like a pedophile smile to him. And Xemnas was still smiling. This was beginning to get disturbing…almost like his dream…

Xemnas let his smile fade slightly, not knowing that it made him look even more menacing. Nor did he realize that he was frightening Roxas. "I need some assistance number thirteen. I can't seem to find anyone else and I need someone to help me…I…I…" Xemnas broke off and backed away from the chair, and placed his hands over where his heart would have been. "I want to share this feeling I have, with everyone!"

Roxas was slowly distangling himself from his blanket and inching out of the chair. This was getting to be way too unnerving, and he didn't want to know what feeling Xemnas wanted to share. Roxas slipped out of the chair and inched towards the nearest door. He didn't quite make it five feet from the chair when Xemnas realized what he was up to.

Xemnas snaked an arm around Roxas' shoulder, "Where are you going?" He tried to pull the younger Nobody backwards, but was unable to.

Roxas was panicking, "Let go of me!"

"…What's the matter?"

"…"

"…"

Somebody help me!"

"…Don't you mean Nobody?"

"…"

"…"

"HELP!"

121

Axel heard Roxas' cry for help and was about to storm the lounge when the door flew open and Roxas threw himself at Axel, knocking both of them to the ground.

"Whoa! What's wrong Roxas?" Axel asked in surprise. As he sat up, he glanced up curiously at Roxas, who was already back on his feet.

Roxas didn't respond as Xemnas came out of the lunge as well. Xemnas spotted Axel, "Ah, number eight. You may assist me as well."

Axel exchanged glances with Roxas, "Never mind. Let's get out of here!" Axel leapt off and shot off after Roxas, Xemnas pursuing them.

"Hey! Come back!

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So, how was it? Hopefully the two months plus of no updating didn't hurt the chapter too much. Zexion should be rescued in the next chapter, and Marluxia is going to be causing trouble for Zexion in two or three chapters from now, after a happy Xemnas gets his way.

Anyway, thanks for reading and/or reviewing! I hope to update as soon as I am able to.


	29. Rescue

College plus holidays equals being brain dead for awhile afterwards. Sorry about the lack of updates, but hey, I'm updating now. Thanks for being patient, and thank to those who reviewed. This chapter is somewhat of a transition chapter to the next few chapters, which should bounce back to being more funny.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts (2).

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Xigbar had gotten back to the castle, and was on his way to his room, when he crossed paths with Lexaeus, who was returning from disposing of the parts of the broken chandelier.

"Oh, Xigbar, there you are. Where have you been?" Lexaeus questioned. He fell silent for a moment as he took in Xigbar's battered appearance, "What happened to you?"

Xigbar winced, but managed a lopsided grin, "Some Heartless caught me off guard. Saix, Xaldin and Vexen are trying to deal with it."

"Where?"

"The Underworld…" Xigbar responded, watching as Lexaeus disappeared without a word through a portal. Xigbar limped off, grumbling darkly to himself, "Doesn't ask if I'm all right…what is this organization coming to?" Xigbar arrived outside his room and entered it, entirely unaware of the spectacle going on in a hall a floor below.

121

Xemnas was attempting to coax Axel and Roxas down from the rafters, where the two had taken refuge, "Come on! I need help! Why are you hiding up there?" Xemnas tilted his head, to try and catch sight of the two hiding Nobodies.

Axel and Roxas were laying low in the rafters, hoping that Xemnas would give up on them and leave soon. It did seem like he needed some kind of help.

"What do we do if he doesn't leave us alone?" Roxas asked, casting a glance over at the red-head.

Axel shrugged, "I don't know…but…I really don't want to know what he needs are help with…" Axel peered over the rafters, but immediately regretted it. Xemnas had spotted him and had hurled a barrage of laser-type attacks, causing Axel to teeter dangerously on the edge of the rafters.

Roxas dove forward and wrapped his arms around Axel's waist, heaving backwards. He and Axel tumbled backwards. Both lay low again. There was a short silence, before Roxas spoke, "Axel…don't do that again."

Axel let out a shaky laugh, "Right." Xemnas may have been 'happy', but he was still dangerous with his attacks. Axel winced, "I think one of those lasers hit me."

"Quit whining, it's your own fault…um…what do you think we should do now?"

"…"

"Axel?"

Axel shook his head, seemingly amused with something, "Portals?"

"…"

"Roxas?"

"Wow, why didn't I think of that before?"

"Maybe because we were distracted by Xemnas chasing us and trying to catch us?"

"…I guess so…let's get out of here."

Axel created a portal instantly, and the two fled through it.

It took Xemnas awhile to realize that his quarry had escaped. Xemnas merely wandered off, smiling and talking to himself, "Yes…run away. You can not hide from me. I will find you…" Xemnas' laughter rang through the hall, causing even lesser Nobodies wandering the castle to vacate the area their estranged Superior was in.

121

Demyx and the Saix replica arrived in a spacious cavern and right in the middle of a fight between the large Heartless dog and Marluxia and Larxene. Zexion was still caught in the Heartless' mouth.

"Zexion!" Demyx called, drawing everyone's attention in the cave to him.

Marluxia and Larxene retreated a short distance away from the Heartless. Marluxia then cast an irritated glare in Demyx's direction. "Where have you been? Useless idiot…"

Demyx bristled at being called an idiot, and had trouble hiding the contempt in his voice as he responded, "The Heartless got ahead of us. I'm here, so what's the problem? Anyway…what are you two doing here?"

Marluxia seemed amused, but Larxene merely snapped at him after glancing at Sai, "Just shut up and help already."

"…" Demyx decided not to argue and retreated a few steps to converse with Sai.

Sai listened intently, nodding in understanding with the plan Demyx had just outlined. Sai called forth a claymore, and stooped slightly, eyeing the Heartless with a piercing gaze. "Just tell me when," Sai said in a low growl.

"Right." Since Sai was a replica, the tone didn't bother Demyx as much as it would with the real Saix. The Melodious Nocturne summoned his sitar, readying it, "Marluxia! Larxene! Get back!" Demyx then sent a torrent of water at the dog Heartless, which avoided the attack with ease.

"Now!" Demyx yelled, sending another wave at the Heartless, which avoided it again.

What the Heartless didn't know was that the water was a decoy.

Sai was running alongside the water like a silent shadow. When the water dropped to the ground, Sai made a flying leap, claymore held high, "Zexion! Hold still!"

Zexion saw a claymore flashing towards his and went limp in the Heartless' mouth, hoping Sai had good aim. He didn't want his head cut off or anything…wait…how did Sai expect to get him free with the claymore? Oh well, nothing he could do about it. Zexion had tried to create a portal, but for some reason he was unable to.

Sai let out a defiant roar, angling the claymore and digging it into the Heartless' mouth, missing Zexion by less than an inch. With a grunt of effort, Sai levered the claymore, forcing the Heartless to open its mouth. "Zexion! Move!"

Zexion wriggled around, managing to free himself. He tumbled out of the Heartless' maw, dropping to the ground in an exhausted heap.

Sai, instead of pulling the claymore free, let it disappear instead. He had to roll to one side to avoid being stomped on by an extremely irate Heartless. Sai leapt back to his feet and stooped down to pick up Zexion. He leapt out of the way as Demyx unleashed a barrage of water on the dog Heartless, completely drenching it and electing an angry roar from it.

Marluxia hid his amazement from Demyx, and how the sitarists' plan had worked. He smiled lazily at Larxene, "I'd say it's time for us to get back in and fight. You first?"

Larxene gave Marluxia an evil grin, "Of course, unless you'd like to be electrocuted."

Marluxia leaned on his scythe, "No, go on ahead. I'll wait and see if it'll need to be finished off when you're through with it."

121

Lexaeus moved quickly. He didn't have much time to react, but managed to summon forth a wall of rock between the behemoth Heartless hybrid and Saix, who was lying prone on the ground.

"Lexaeus!" Xaldin said in surprise, as he helped Vexen to his feet. What was he doing in the Underworld?

"I spoke with Xigbar and came to see if you needed help," Lexaeus responded, casting his gaze over Xaldin and Vexen's ruffled appearance and Saix, still on the ground, "and it seems that you do need help…"

Vexen dismissed his shield and spoke calmly to Xaldin, as though he didn't hear what Lexaeus had said, "I believe I've figured out how to defeat the Heartless."

"How?" Xaldin questioned, eyeing the rock wall Lexaeus had created. Cracks were beginning to appear, indicating that the Heartless was trying its hardest to break it down.

Vexen transferred his gaze to the exhausted Saix, "He shouldn't have gone after it once he had been beaten down…" Vexen sucked in his breath sharply and backed up a foot or so. Saix had struck him on one of his shins.

Xaldin moved forward and halted Saix's half-hearted attempt to strike Vexen again, "Saix, stop it. You're in no condition to be moving, hold still."

Saix gave Xaldin a look of loathing, but settled back down with a faint huff, along with a flinch.

Xaldin frowned down at Saix, "Well, he's unconscious now." He glanced over at Vexen, "Well? What have you figured out?"

Vexen was about to respond when the Heartless managed to break through the barrier Lexaeus had created.

"Move!" Xaldin snapped, picking Saix up from the ground and leaping away in time to avoid being squashed by the Heatless' enormous paw.

Lexaeus and Vexen were cut off from following Xaldin by tons of hulking, furious Heartless ready for some destruction.

121

Xaldin had gone back to the castle via portal after seeing that Vexen and Lexaeus would be able to deal with the Heartless. Taking the unconscious Luna Diviner from the battle seemed to be the best course of action at the moment. Xaldin took Saix to his room, and was getting the barely awake berserker to lie down. He was about to leave when he saw Xemnas enter the room. Great. This was going to take some explaining, as his Superior was already muddled as it was.

15 minutes later…

Xaldin had explained the situation to Xemnas, and to Xaldin's surprise, Xemnas had went through a portal, most likely to the Underworld. "Not good…" Xaldin murmured to himself, and was about to follow after his estranged leader when a crash resounded, knocking him off his feet. The Whirlwind Lancer scrambled to his feet, looking around wildly. What had caused that tremor?

A dragoon nobody suddenly appeared before Xaldin, saluting with its lance.

Xaldin spoke automatically, "Yes, what is it?"

_There are intruders outside the castle. Heartless. _The dragoon nobody relayed.

"I thought Lexaeus had already patrolled the area…" Xaldin muttered more to himself than the lesser nobody. Xaldin shrugged, before giving orders. "Find Axel and Roxas. They can deal with the Heartless. Also, locate Xigbar and see if he's up for a fight."

The dragoon nobody saluted again, before vanishing to carry out its orders.

Xaldin considered going back to the Underworld, but decided that investigating the source of the tremor earlier was more important.

121

After countless tries, Vexen and Lexaeus managed to defeat the behemoth dog Heartless, along with some help from Xemnas and Saix, who had left his room.

Vexen was in the process of helping a dazed Xemnas get to his feet, when he heard crashing coming from another cavern, "What was that?"

He didn't have to wait long for an answer, as Demyx suddenly came running towards them, a look of abject horror on his face, "Run away! Larxene's going to barbeque a Heartless!" Demyx ran right by the other startled Nobodies, right into a portal, tail whipping out of sight, causing Vexen to consider where he was at with making antidotes. Close behind Demyx was Sai, who was carrying Zexion. He didn't bother saying anything as he ran into the portal as well.

Lexaeus and Vexen glanced at each other warily, "What's Larxene doing in the Underworld?"

"I'm not sure, but we should probably leave as well." Vexen responded, slinging one of Xemnas's arms over one shoulder to keep him standing.

Lexaeus had picked up the once again unconscious Luna Diviner, and he and Vexen vacated the area as another large and angry Heartless appeared in the cavern, pursued by Larxene and Marluxia.

121

Roxas and Axel had hidden themselves in the kitchens, congratulating themselves on throwing Xemnas off their trail.

Roxas rummaged around in a cupboard, pulling out a snack, "Axel…none of this would have happened if you didn't insist on spying on Xemnas."

Axel pouted, "Don't be mean Roxas. Besides, that's in the past now." He peered into the freezer, "Sea-salt ice cream?"

Roxas shook his head, "Not right now. I'm still recovering from our encounter with Vexen."

"Oh, yeah," Axel responded, looking away. He had forgotten about that.

"You know…we should probably go somewhere else. Someone's bound to find us here," Roxas commented, as he threw an empty wrapper away in a nearby trash can.

"I suppose so…" Axel agreed, taking a look around the kitchen, as though expecting someone to come in. Both were surprised when it came in the form of a dragoon nobody.

"Err…" Axel began, casting a confused glance at Roxas. Seeing a shrug, Axel turned his attention to the nobody, "Yes?"

The dragoon nobody saluted with its lance and relayed its message. _The Whirlwind Lancer would like you and number thirteen to repel some Heartless that are converging near the castle._ Its mission completed, the nobody vanished.

Axel and Roxas were silent for a few moments.

"Why do things like this keep happening to us?" Axel questioned his friend.

Roxas ventured a guess, "Because…we keep making someone angry?"

Axel created a portal and walked through it slowly, "May as well get it over with…"

Roxas followed after the red-head, wondering why the Heartless would wind up so close to the castle without warning.

The two came out of the portal beneath the castle and in the city. Roxas heaved a sigh as he summoned his twin keyblades. It looked like this was going to take awhile.

Axel called forth his chakrams, eyeing the Heartless in silence, attempting but failing to count the amount of Heartless and the different varieties of them, "Hey, Roxas?"

"Hmm?"

"Why do you think there are so many different types?"

"I don't know."

"Well…how is this only some Heartless?"

"Dunno. Let's chase them off," Roxas responded as he dashed forward, brandishing his keyblades.

Axel shook his head and fell into step with the blond. The partial blond? Axel shook his head and commented, "Hope there aren't any big ones."

"…"

"What?"

"Dammit Axel, you just had to jinx us, didn't you?"

Axel blinked, confused, "What do you mean?"

"Look." Roxas jabbed a keyblade to behind the first few lines of Heartless.

Axel stopped and stared for a few seconds. Then, he let out a low whistle and stated, "Well, shit."

"My thoughts exactly."

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Poor Axel and Roxas. Hey, Zexion finally got rescued, meaning he'll get back to plotting. Plus, Xemnas is getting closer to putting some of his own plotting into motion. Well, if you'd like, let me know how it went.

So, until the next update, hopefully later this month, thanks for reading and/or reviewing.


	30. Healing and Heartless Bashing

Sorry about the wait, and thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter! I have more chapters that I've written in advance, which should steadily get more humorous.

So, my question is: Find titles for the rest of the chapters (to know which chapter is what) and just keep the chapters coming, or make a part 2 after this chapter. If those of you reading this story could let me know either through a review or a PM, it would be greatly appreciated.

Oh, and I'll attempt from now on to put author notes at the end of the chapters, as I've realized they seem to annoy people if put at the top. So, thanks for letting me ramble, and on to the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts (2).

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Vexen exited the portal, winding up in his laboratory. Hefting Xemnas' arm around his shoulder again, Vexen half-carried, half-dragged his unconscious leader to a room where he would occasionally sleep if he were caught up in experiments. In other words, it was his makeshift bedroom.

Vexen shouldered the door open, bringing himself and Xemnas into the small room. Vexen moodily kicked the door shut behind them, making it close with a bang, causing Xemnas to stir slightly. Vexen shook his head and propped Xemnas up in a bed in the corner.

Leaving Xemnas, Vexen went digging around for medical supplies, cursing when he kept coming up empty handed. While he was occupied, he didn't notice Xemnas stir again and open his eyes wearily.

Shaking his head woozily, Xemnas tried to piece together what had happened. There were several foggy recollections, and he was pretty sure they were important. Why then, couldn't he recall them? Xemnas lifted his head and watched Vexen wander around the room, apparently looking for something. Xemnas shook his head in an attempt to clear it. This was rather frustrating, not being able to remember…

Vexen nearly jumped out of his skin when a voice spoke sharply.

"The Heartless! Is it gone?"

Vexen turned, fumbling with medical supplies in his grasp, and found Xemnas trying to get out of bed. Forgetting any formalities, Vexen spoke hastily, "Xemnas! Don't move around so much! You're injured. Don't worry, the Heartless is gone. Larxene and Marluxia are dealing with another one." Vexen went silent as Xemnas hesitated, before appearing to remember something.

"Where's Saix? Is he all right? Everything is so…foggy…"

Vexen set the medical supplies down on the ground, and went to stop Xemnas from moving around so much. "Hold still. Lexaeus is seeing to Saix. You're in no condition to be moving around like this."

Xemnas eventually stopped trying to get out of bed and slumped against the bed, allowing Vexen to wrestle the organization jacket off him.

Vexen cursed under his breath and brandished the trench coat. It was fairly tattered, "Look at this! That Heartless could have torn you in two!" Vexen reached for the medical supplies, before holding out his free hand, "We'll start with that gash on your arm.

"…" Xemnas held out his arm.

"…"

"Hey! Be careful!"

"Don't be a baby! You've had worse, right?"

"…"

"…"

121

Outside the laboratory, Sai was returning from Twilight Town, a small box in his arms. Sai fled through a portal to Zexion's room, when a pained cry and some curses came from within the lab.

The cry of pain came from Xemnas.

The annoyed curses came from Vexen.

121

Lexaeus lay the unconscious Luna Diviner on the bed, before backing away and looking around Saix's spacious room. Did Saix keep medical supplies in his room? Or would he have to go somewhere else to aquire them? Lexaeus cast a glance over his shoulder at the prone Berserker, noting that he wouldn't be up any time soon. Finding no sign of a healing kit, Lexaeus went towards Saix's bathroom. Surely he'd keep a kit in there, even if he didn't expect to use it.

Lexaeus went through the cupboards carefully, relieved when he found a small medical kit, which had numerous types of bandages and antiseptics inside. Lexaeus emerged from the bathroom, and found, to his surprise, that Saix was awake and attempting to get out of bed, even though he could barely move after his battle with the behemoth dog Heartless.

Lexaeus set the medical kit on Saix's bed stand, avoiding eye contact for the moment. He knew the Luna Diviner was most likely displeased that he was in his room without invitation.

Saix eyed Lexaeus in a calculating manner with his yellow eyes, as Lexaeus rummaged through the med kit. Saix looked away momentarily, laying back down with a wince. He had forgotten that part of the Heartless' claw was embedded slightly above his stomach, in his chest. Luckily, he didn't have a heart to pierce, otherwise he'd be dead. It still hurt like hell. Saix closed his eyes. He had pushed himself too much, trying to fight the Heartless on his own. Saix winced again as Lexaeus attacked his injuries with some ointments.

Lexaeus left the claw alone at the moment, deciding to deal with that last. He didn't need Saix going berserk while treating his wounds. Lexaeus shook his head slightly. Saix should have stayed out of the fight once he had been thrown down once.

Saix endured the treatment for awhile, before he slipped into unconsciousness, a thought on his mind. Why was he only in his boxers?

121

Larxene leaned against against the cavern wall, flipping a kunai up and down, acting as though she hadn't just pumped thousands of volts into the large Heartless. Larxene raised her head and glanced at the fallen form of the Heartless, which was now in its death throes, Marluxia closing in to finish it off.

Marluxia's scythe went down in an arc, sharp blade cleaving down at the Heartless' head. It vanished, defeated,a heart released. Marluxia calmly seized the heart, landing lightly on the ground as he allowed his scythe to vanish into thin air.

Larxene let her kunai vanish as well and casually began to walk away, "I suppose we should go back to the castle. I had a question for you..." Larxene halted and glanced over her shoulder at Marluxia, "What is it?"

Marluxia gave Larxene a weary look, before swaying and collapsing to the ground without warning.

"Marluxia!" Larxene exclaimed, surprised. She went over to him and knelt down by his side, "Are you all right?"

Marluxia cursed the Heartless under his breath, allowing Larxene to help him sit up. Damn Heartless. He should have been more careful to avoid injury, and now he had an slash against his left side, which uncomfortably trailed from his upper rib down to his hip. With some difficulty, he managed to get to his feet, "...I'll be fine." He _did_ lean against Larxene to remain standing, as the Savage Nymph opened up a portal.

After going through the portal and exiting into Marluxia's room, Larxene helped Marluxia sit down on his bed. Larxene swatted a few venturesome vines away from her, and gave Marluxia an annoyed look, who in turn shrugged in what he thought was an apologetic way.

Larxene rolled her eyes and glanced around the Graceful Assassin's room, frowning faintly, "Marluxia...do you have medical supplies in your room?"

Marluxia stretched on his bed, yawning, "I don't believe so. It'll heal on its own, so don't worry about it," Marluxia flinched as Larxene slapped a hand against his chest, near his wound.

"If it weren't so deep, I'd leave it be. Do you, or don't you, have a kit?" Larxene questioned softly, voice carrying a promise to cause injury upon an unfavorable response.

Marluxia locked eyes with Larxene, attempting to stare her down, but failed miserably. Breaking eye contact, Marluxia let out a defeated sigh, "I may still have one in the dresser..." He watched silently as Larxene went over to it and began to go through the drawers. He became apprehensive when Larxene stopped at one of the drawers, her profile showing a slight curl in her lips.

"Marluxia...what are these?" Larxene withdrew a few items, showing them. She watched in interest as Marluxia's face slowly went red in embarrassment, and his attempt to stutter a response. Larxene replaced the items with an evil grin, closing the drawer and going onto the next one. A minute later, Larxene withdrew a small med kit, and brought it over to Marluxia's bedside.

"So, Marluxia..."

Marluxia flinched involuntarily, "Yes?" He wondered hesitantly, hoping the items in the drawer would never, ever be discussed or see the light of day ever again.

"I found a book that you had been reading, and I was wondering, what is a Ralawa plant? It had a short description, but I wanted to hear what your opinion of it was. And, I was wondering when you were planning on getting it," Larxene responded, poking Marluxia until he got his wound clear of clothing, and began to treat it.

Marluxia winced a bit as he tried to gather his thoughts. Shaking his head a little, he said, "The Ralawa plant I was reading about had some properties and abilities I found interesting. I had gotten it as a seed, when I was under the impression that it was a different plant species," Marluxia smirked, "Although, it was a plant I wanted to acquire at some point."

Larxene dabbed at the wound with some ointment, "Where are you keeping it?"

"It's in here, most likely hiding in a dark corner somewhere..." Seeing Larxene's expression, Marluxia added hastily, "It won't bother you unless I tell it to."

Larxene relaxed visibly. Sometimes the plants Marluxia had would act of there own volition, which could result in awkward situations. Like the time Marluxia came back tnto his room,and found an infuriated Larxene being lovingly caressed by a man eating plant. Larxene began to smile, "What do you plan to do with it?"

Marluxia offered an evil smile, "You'll have to wait and see. It'll be a few more days before it's fully grown, but then..." Marluxia trailed off, obviously thinking about what would happen then.

Larxene had begun to bandage the wound, but was smiling, "I look forward to it."

Marluxia touched the bandages over his injury tenatively, then looked up to where Larxene was now lounging in a chair, swatting at a vine that kept sneakily creeping up one of her legs. Marluxia shook his head, before throwing Larxene a confused look at her questioning one, "What?"

Another smile was playing around Larxene's lips, "So, Marluxia...what's the story with what was in that drawer?"

"..."

Larxene grinned evilly at Marluxia. She would get an answer. Oh yes, she would.

Marluxia, at the moment, wanted to be anywhere but here.

"Well, Marluxia?"

"..." He was going to be in for some more pain if he didn't say anything...

121

Unaware of what Marluxia was going through, Zexion was in his bedroom, refusing to come outside, only allowing Vexen in to treat the injuries he had sustained from the Heartless (Vexen had put Xaldin in charge of their confused Superior.

Zexion winced as Vexen finished bandaging the numerous wounds. Letting out a drawn-out sigh, Zexion tried to ignore his fluffy ears and tail, directing a question at Vexen, "How are the antidotes coming along Vexen?"

Vexen paused in the middle of creating a portal, "...Seeing as Axel distracted me the other day, I'd say a few days...perhaps less...if I can figure out what's missing..." Vexne drifted off, mumbling calculations, as he stepped through the portal.

When the portal had vanished, Zexion lay back, wincing and cursing Axel for bothering Vexen. Zexion touched his fuzzy, elongated ears. He really wanted his ears back to normal, and wanted the long, fuzzy tail to begone as well. It had been irking him ever since it had appeared. Zexion closed his eyes, deciding to take a rest. He figured he deserved it. As he drifted off, he hoped that Axel would be punished for doing this to him.

As he dozed off, Zexion wondered why that annoying red-head hadn't come to laugh at his misfortune.

121

The red-head in question was currently locked in a feirce battle with a Defender Heartlesss, and was irritated that the Defender kept knocking him backwards. Axel twirled his chakrams, trying to figure out how to best deal with this nuscience of a Heartless.

"Axel!"

Axel cast a sideways glance to where Roxas was trying to deal with a group of Solider and Shadow Heartless, defeating them with sweeps from his twin Keyblades. Axel saw Roxas motioning at the Defender Heartless, and after a few more motions, Axel realized that Roxas was offering to help him. Axel smirked, amused with his friend. Despite being a beacon to the Heartless with his Keyblade, Roxas still managed to worry about others around him.

With an affirmative nod, Axel leapt away from the Defender, and sent his chakrams flying towards it.

The Defender Heartless seemed to be amused by this, and blocked the flying weapons easily with its shield. While the Heartless advanced towards Axel, Roxas cam running up from behind and struck. The Heartless let out an angry roar and turned to deal with the annoying blond who had attacked him. Turning caused the Heartless' back to be wide open, and fell prey to flaming chakrams. With one last roar, the Heartless vanished.

Axel let his weapons vanish all of a sudden, swaying slightly. He managed a weary smile when Roxas came over to him, looking concerned.

"You all right Axel?" Roxas wondered, beating back a few venturesome Shadows.

Axel kicked irritably at a few Shadows tugging at his trench coat. "I'll be fine. I've just used up a lot of power. I just need...to rest..." Axel swayed again, before slumping against a nearby building wall. Unfortunatly for Axel, this seemed to be a signal to the Heartless. They converged on his from all sides, trying to take advantage of his lowered defenses.

Roxas let out a cry of surprise and hurried to Axel's side to fend off the Heartless, "Dammit Axel! Don't you dare faint on me and make me deal with all these guys on my own!"

"..."

"Axel?" Roxas chanced a sideways glance, and found Axel had slumped further against the wall, eyes closed. Roxas turned his attention back to the Heartless in time to deflect a few more attacks, "Axel! Get up!"

"..." Axel was barely conscious and didn't respond.

Roxas grumbled something, and cleared the space around them of Heartless, concentrating on summoning a Dusk. After a few moments, a Dusk appeared to Roxas' relief. Letting out a sigh, Roxas instructed the Dusk, "Get Xaldin, or someone who isn't bust! We need back up, now. Hurry!"

The Dusk quivered and vanished.

Roxas went back to fending off the Heartless, while also lightly kicking Axel, "Hey! Make a portal or something! Axel!" Roxas slashed a Wyvern Heartless, when he heard a slight thump. Casting another glance in Axel's direction, Roxas let out a long groan of annoyance. Axel was likely unconscious now, owing to the fact that he now lay on the ground near the building. Roxas dodged a Behemoth Heartless and hoped that the Dusk he had summoned would find help.

121

Seeing Lexaeus and Demyx, who had entered Saix's room to see what was going on, were occupied with trying to force feed the Berserker medicine. The Dusk Roxas had sent watched for a moment, before deciding to look elsewhere for help. Finding Xaldin likewise occupied with Xemnas, and Larxene and Marluxia engaged in some strange wrerstling match, the Dusk decided to relay XIII's request to Vexen.

121

Vexen was currently on the verge of finishing different antidotes, and was quite pleased with himself for figuring things out after Axel's previous interruption. Vexen put the finishing touches on each of the antidotes and set them aside to let them settle. Once they had sat for at least a half a day, they would be ready. Vexen exhaled, tired but relieved that he was finally done.

As Vexen sank into a chair on the other side of the room, the Dusk suddenly appeared in front of him.

There was a slight pause, as Vexen and the Dusk stared at one another (at least, Vexen_ thought_ it was staring at him). After another pause, Vexen finally spoke, "What is it?"

The dusk quivered as it realyed the request from Roxas. _Number thirteen would like some assistance. Heartless are in great numbers. Number eight is down. _The dusk vanished before Vexen could say anything.

Muttering sullenly under his breath, Vexen rose from his nice, _comfy_ chair and headed outside via a portal, wondering why the Heartless were causing so much trouble. When Vexen exited the portal, he had to summon his shield to block a barrage of attacks from a Wizard Heartless. Vexen destroyed it by freezing it and letting it shatter on the ground below. Muttering a curse, Vexen used his shield, as well as ice attacks, to clear a path, looking for Axel and Roxas. Vexen gazed down at the city below the Castle that Never Was, silently amazed that the Dusk had been right about the number of Heartless converging beneath the castle.

Vexen bashed a Heartless in the face as he froze another one, making his way over to where he saw Roxas still fending off the Heartless, Axel on the ground and out of it. Getting Roxas' attention, Vexen called, "Get ready to open a portal!" Seeing that Roxas had heard, Vexen made it through a swarm of Heartless, and over to them. Giving the Furry of Dancing Flames a distasteful look, Vexen made his shield disappear and stooped down to pick Axel up. Once he had Axel slung mostly over one shoulder, Vexen nodded to Roxas, "Now!"

Roxas swatted away a Solider Heartless and, one keyblade vanishing, opened a portal. After Vexen had gone through the portal with Axel, Roxas jumped backwards into it, after launching one last swipe at the milling Heartless. He would bother Xaldin and see why he had told him to go and deal with the Heartless when he knew that Heartless were drawn to the Keyblade.

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Wow, that was a longer chapter. So, how was it? Let me know if you'd like. I'm thinking I should have done a bit more scenery, but oh well. Also, if you could let me know about my question I asked at the top, that'd be great.

So, until next time, thanks for reading and/or reviewing! (almost summer!).


	31. Group Meeting

Hey, I updated (finally)! Thanks for the reviews and here's the next chapter! (A/N at end from now on).

Disclaimer: I don't won anything from Kingdom Hearts (2).

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A lone Dusk was meandering through the castle hall, when a portal suddenly appeared. The Dusk was momentarily interested, but fled the area as soon as it sensed that one of the organization members was returning in a foul mood. Swearing something obscenely under his breath, Roxas stumbled out of the portal, which vanished as soon as he left it. Slowly lowering himself to the ground, Roxas' keyblades vanished. Safely on the ground now, Roxas doubled over, gasping for breath as he cursed the swarming Heartless mob that he had escaped from. It irritated him to no end that the Keyblades were like a beacon to the Heartless. Shaking his head and trying to get his breath back down to normal, Roxas cast a sideways glance to see how Axel was faring. He watched silently as Vexen lowered the somewhat dazed and half-conscious red-head to the ground.

Vexen stood up, and, after shaking his head at the state Axel was in, turned his attention to their surroundings. They were outside the kitchen, near where the chandelier had been broken. Vexen raised an eyebrow at the remaining shards, deciding not to comment on it at the moment. Instead, he turned his attention to the weary blond on the ground, "Why did you have us come here? Wouldn't it have been better to go directly to one of your rooms…?" Vexen broke off to glance down at Axel, to assess how much damage had actually been done. There hadn't been any time to check with all the attacks coming their way. Frowning, Vexen was annoyed to see that, apart from the torn fabric, Axel hadn't sustained any injuries that he could see. Shaking his head ever so slightly, Vexen turned his attention back to Roxas, apparently still awaiting a response.

Roxas managed to get his breathing under control, and after a final silent curse aimed at the Heartless outside, he responded, "I was…thinking about the kitchen because…all that fighting made me thirsty?" Roxas offered a small, sheepish smile when Vexen scowled at him.

Sighing, Vexen rolled his eyes as he threw his hands up in the air, "Of _course_ that's the reason. Why did I even bother asking?" Shaking his head, Vexen stalked off in a huffy silence, muttering to himself about youth and their one-track minds.

"Where are you going?" Roxas called after him, curious. Not that he expected Vexen to answer. To his surprise, the scientist did.

"I'm getting the others together for a meeting, since Xemnas is currently not in a right state of mind. We need to figure out what we're going to do in the meantime, while I try and figure out an antidote…Bring Axel to the dining hall. We'll meet there."

Roxas stared at the spot where Vexen had vanished, wondering why they'd bother with a meeting when most of the organization members would think that it was vacation time or something, since Xemnas couldn't order them around at the moment. Sighing wistfully at the thought of a few free days, Roxas turned his attention to his somewhat incapacitated best friend. Roxas scowled darkly. His incapacitated idiotic friend who thought that making their Superior act like a happy- go- lucky moron was a smart idea. Roxas swept his gaze around the area, and, apart from the glass shards, there was nothing of interest. Roxas glanced back down at Axel, wondering what would happen if he just left him there. Heaving a sigh, Roxas decided that he couldn't. Who knew what could happen…Shuddering and remembering that some of Marluxia's plants might not have all been removed, Roxas stooped to heave his friend up off the floor. Or tried to.

Growling under his breath, Roxas struggled to get the surprisingly heavy red-head up off the ground, "C'mon you skinny bastard! Get up!"

The only response he received was a quiet moan and a hand swatting at him half-heartedly. Roxas' scowl deepened. And they didn't have hearts to even express that. Xemnas had to be lying or something about how the emotions they expressed were fake. Because Axel was sure as hell doing a good job of expressing himself. Roxas bent over again in one last attempt to get Axel up off the floor, "Get up or I'll leave you here. Then one of Marluxia's plants will come and molest you, and it'll be your own fault." Roxas paused to think that one over, as Axel merely groaned again and said something to the affect that it wasn't winter yet and he needed to enjoy the summer and barbeque something without Xemnas telling him to stop trying to burn the castle down.

Roxas blinked in confusion. That had made no sense whatsoever. Deciding that he couldn't leave his delusional friend to be assaulted by anything leafy, (Axel would be sure to return the favor somehow) Roxas decided that he would resort to dragging Axel along behind him. Axel wouldn't be able to complain because he was the one who wasn't moving. Roxas' plan was foiled, however, when he tried to drag Axel along. Axel barely moved an inch or so, and Roxas realized that he was too heavy. Roxas was about to try plan B, which involved a lot of rope and a tarp, when a calm, amused voice spoke up from in front of him.

"Do you need some assistance Roxas?"

Roxas immediately abandoned what he had been about to do, twirling the rope around idly, which he had found in a nearby closet. Roxas nodded in agreement, "Yeah, thanks Luxord." Roxas straightened up and smiled gratefully at Luxord, who was currently looking down at Axel, bemused, "What happened to you two?"

"…"

When Roxas didn't reply, Luxord merely shrugged and stooped down to get one of Axel's arms around his shoulder. Straightening, and showing no sign of effort, he nodded to Roxas, "Where to?"

"The dining hall." Roxas responded, leading the way. He kept the rope with him, just in case he needed it later. You never knew what could happen in the castle, and Roxas liked to be as prepared as he could be.

"What's going on?" Luxord questioned, shifting Axel slightly to more easily carry him. Or rather, half carry half drag. He was still wondering what Roxas had been trying to do with the rope, but decided that it was probably best not to ask, at least for now.

"Where have you been? There are Heartless swarming all over the place outside beneath the castle. Oh, and Saix, Zexion and Xemnas are injured from fighting Heartless in the Underworld," Roxas replied, glancing over his shoulder to cast a curious glance at the Gambler of Fate. He was surprised to see a faintly affronted expression.

Luxord spoke stiffly as he entered the kitchen, "Xaldin and Lexaeus passed on the disposal of Marluxia's dangerous plants to me, once they had been removed from the castle."

Roxas continued to walk through the kitchen to the dining hall on the other side of the room, "Oh. I thought that the plants had already been taken care of." Inwardly, Roxas shuddered.

Luxord shook his head, even though Roxas couldn't see him, "No, they were going to, but I guess they found legitimate excuses to pass along the work," Luxord winced, pausing for a moment to touch his left arm gingerly.

Roxas turned around in time to see this, "What happened?" Roxas noted what looked like a spike sticking out of Luxord's arm and winced. What if he and Axel had run into rouge plants while fighting the Heartless? Roxas didn't want to even think about it. He opted to listen to Luxord talk instead.

"Well, I was successful in getting rid of the plants, except for one of them," Luxord winced again, before continuing, "The plant was barbed, and I had a difficult time avoiding being hit. I sent it away through a portal, but not before it buried a thorn in my forearm." Luxord looked down at it thoughtfully "I hope it's not poisoned…" Shaking his head lightly, he resumed walking, as did Roxas, "In any case, I was looking for Marluxia to inquire about it. By the way, why are you headed for the dining hall?"

Roxas stretched, feeling stiff as he did so. Damn, he was going to be sore tomorrow. "Well…Xemnas is…incapacitated at the moment…So... Vexen's calling an emergency meeting. We're all supposed to go to the dining hall, since it'll be easier for those that are wounded."

Thinking about the high, uncomfortable white chairs with the tendency to malfunction from overuse (which Xigbar and Axel had unfortunately discovered), Luxord nodded in agreement, "The dining hall chairs _are_ much more comfortable," Luxord paused, then added wryly, "Although, I do recall that they used to be very uncomfortable, before our friend here burnt them to a crisp." He indicated Axel, who was mumbling incoherently.

That caused Roxas to remember the time when Axel had snuck into the dining hall in the middle of the night. Or at least, what all the Nobodies thought was night, when they rested. One could never tell in The World that Never Was. It was confusing until you got used to it. Roxas sighed. It had been… a disaster. All the organization members had been woken up and ordered out of bed by a furious and sleep deprived Superior. They had waited in silence as Demyx put out the fire, and had to listen to Xemnas rant and rage at Axel, who didn't seem at all that sorry, for over an hour.

In the end, most of the organization members had managed to convince their angered leader to get cushion- covered chairs, as opposed to the steel ones he was threatening to get. Vexen had luckily managed to point out to the fuming Xemnas that Axel would just as easily melt and destroy steel chairs. Xemnas had relented and allowed more comfortable chairs to be brought in from Twilight Town.

Xemnas had, however, made sure to thoroughly punish Axel in an attempt to deter him from any other furniture destruction. It seemed to have worked. No more furniture had been reduced to cinders in awhile. The Flurry of Dancing Flames still involuntarily flinched whenever he saw wooden planks and hammers. Axel still refused to relate the incident, and anyone curious about what had happened would be hard-pressed to find out the details without resorting to violence. This wasn't a good idea, because no one felt like being burned by an angry red-head.

A tap on his shoulder brought Roxas back to the present, "What?" He asked automatically.

"Thinking about what happened?"

"Err…yeah." Shaking his head to clear it, Roxas entered the dining hall and allowed Luxord to pass him with a half-conscious Axel. Roxas followed Luxord to the table, surprised that Xaldin and Xemnas were already seated at the table. Xaldin appeared to be still treating Xemnas' injuries, and seemed mildly surprised that Xemnas was even up, not completely awake and unstable that he was.

As Luxord propped Axel up in a chair, Xemnas wriggled out of Xaldin's grasp and spoke, "Where's Saix? Are you torturing him too?" Xemnas winced as Xaldin tugged him back into range and wrapped his left arm in bandages. Xemnas almost pouted, but managed to seat himself more comfortably in the chair, content for the moment to touch his bandaged wounds gingerly. In the back of his mind, thoughts were flying around. Was Saix all right? Would he be able to share the happy feeling he had with everyone else? One thought lingered further back in his mind, wondering why he was thinking the two previous thoughts, when there was something more important that he should be paying attention to. The frustrating thing was that he couldn't seem to remember it.

Satisfied that Axel wasn't going to keel over onto the ground, Luxord went and took a seat next to Xaldin, and struck up a conversation, as Xemnas seemed to be occupied with whatever was going through his muddled mind.

Roxas was attempting to wake up his best friend, but was having no luck and was so far unsuccessful. All Roxas did manage to get Axel to do was to make the sleeping red-head mumble, "Burn baby…burn…" Roxas gave up then trying to wake him up, and instead watched and waited for other organization members to show up. Roxas drummed his fingers on the dining table as he waited, Axel mumbling incoherently next to him.

"Mmm…zzz…commit it to memory…"

121

Marluxia tested his injured arm, pleased with its healing progress. Shaking his head lightly, he turned his attention to Larxene, who was lounging on a nearby chair, "Is everyone back in the castle?"

Larxene shrugged, "Probably, most likely taking care of their injuries…" Larxene broke off, and then grinned evilly, "Speaking of…I heard that Axel and Roxas were ordered to take care of the Heatless below the castle."

Marluxia's expression turned into a gleeful one, but before he could speak, his bedroom door opened and Vexen entered. Abandoning possible Axel demises, Marluxia turned his attention to the sudden intruder and nodded curtly, "Why, Vexen, what brings you here? Did you laboratory finally explode?'

Vexen bristled at the very idea, but managed to keep himself on track. Ignoring a vine brushing up against one leg, he spoke, "Come down to the dining hall. Emergency meeting." Casting a glare at the pair of them, Vexen brushed away the inquisitive vine and swept out of the room without bothering to close the door.

Once he was gone, Marluxia and Larxene exchanged glances silently. What was that about?

Marluxia was the first to speak up, "Emergency meeting? What for?"

"Maybe Xemnas did something."

"Why would he do anything? I was under the impression that he was still under the influence of the vial Axel gave him."

Larxene's eyes gleamed, "Maybe he did something stupid."

"…" Marluxia quirked an eyebrow.

When Larxene didn't say anything more, Marluxia sighed and glanced over to the open door, "Still, I suppose this could be rather amusing."

"Unless Xemnas corners you and…" Larxene drifted off suggestively.

"…let's go see what this meeting's all about. I'm getting bored here anyway," Marluxia got up out of bed and headed for the door quickly, careful to avoid moving his injured arm too much.

Larxene followed after him, wondering why Vexen would be the one calling the meeting for them to all get together.

121

After sending almost every member to head for the dining hall, Vexen halted outside Saix's room and knocked on the door. As he waited for an answer, Vexen smirked upon remembering that Zexion wasn't very keen on the meeting. And, of course, Vexen had offered a choice. Go to the meeting or babysit the Saix replica for the duration of the meeting. Zexion had given in grudgingly, and made his way uneasily to the dining hall. Sai, the replica, had been content to stay in Zexion's room and eat Sea-Salt ice cream in peace.

Vexen had left a few Dusks to keep watch on eye on him anyway.

Vexen twitched very slightly as Saix's door opened. What Vexen wasn't prepared for was Demyx lunging out of the room and latching himself around Vexen's legs in a death grip as his own legs gave out and he babbled incoherently to the surprised scientist. Sighing, Vexen crossed his arms and looked down sternly at the sitarist, "Let go of my legs number IX."

Demyx shook his head and refused to let go.

Vexen was about to tell him off when Lexaeus appeared in the doorway and shook his head at the sight. "Sorry Vexen. Saix just startled Demyx."

Vexen heaved a sigh, and glared down at Demyx until the Melodious Nocturne calmed down and let go of his legs. Vexen backed away slightly, so that Demyx wouldn't be able to catch him off guard again and latch himself around his legs again. Turning his attention to Lexaeus, Vexen said, "I'm calling everyone down to a meeting to discuss what to do while Xemnas is not in the right state of mind."

"We can bring Saix down when we finish taking care of the injuries he sustained in the Underworld," Lexaeus responded.

"Very well." Vexen paused, and then asked, "Do you need help?" He reached out and wrapped a hand around Demyx's upper arm to prevent him from slinking off.

Lexaeus nodded and turned to go back into the room, "Yes, if you would. Three people are better than one when it comes to treating Saix."

Demyx let out a tiny whimper as Vexen entered the room, pulling him along into Saix's room again. Demyx felt like he was going somewhere worse than the Underworld. He hoped Saix would stay unconscious…

121

Xigbar limped into the dining hall, lowering himself in the closest chair. Letting out a sigh of relief, he relaxed and leaned back comfortably in the chair, glancing to his left. In the chair was Axel, who was sprawled in it, snoring softly. In the chair next to Axel's was an annoyed Roxas. Xigbar managed a small grin, "Roxas, why's Axel taking a snooze?"

Roxas jumped at being addressed, not realizing that Xigbar had entered the room, being occupied with trying to figure out the best way to wake Axel up. "Oh, hey Xigbar." Roxas glanced past the snoring Axel and at Xigbar, "Well, Axel and I were fighting this swarm of Heartless, and he ended up fainting because he overdid it."

Xigbar burst into laughter and, chortling, prodded Axel in the shoulder, "Hey that true, Axel?"

Axel shifted in his sleep and muttered something unintelligible, pushing Xigbar's hand away sleepily.

This only served to cause Xigbar to become more amused and redouble his efforts to wake the other up.

Roxas rolled his eyes and decided to ignore this new development. He turned slightly when someone tapped him on the shoulder. Luxord.

Luxord was giving Xigbar an appraising kind of look as the one-eyed man began to shake Axel's shoulder. Shaking his head, he spoke to Roxas, "I wouldn't want to be in Xigbar's position. Axel might try to set him on fire. Xaldin wants to ask you a question." Luxord leaned back in his chair so the younger Nobody could better see Xaldin.

When Xaldin saw that Roxas was paying attention, he spoke, "What happened, Roxas?"

Roxas assumed that he meant the Heartless, and was about to answer when a scream rang out from the upper floors. There was a startled silence among the organization members assembled, and glanced amongst one another in confusion. Only Xemnas seemed oblivious, humming something under his breath, not aware that Xaldin was done bandaging injuries.

Deciding that they didn't want to know the source of the scream, the Nobodies pretended to be busy with something else.

Luxord took out a deck of cards from a pocket and began to shuffle them absentmindedly, stating clearly that he had no desire to see why someone had screamed.

Larxene and Marluxia had engaged in quiet conversation, their body language indicating that they had no desire to find out either.

Zexion was half-asleep at the end of the table, trying very hard to ignore Xigbar trying to wake Axel up across the table.

"Isn't…someone going to go see what that was?" Roxas asked hesitantly, although he had a sneaking suspicion that the scream had belonged to Demyx.

"If you're so curious, why not go check it out yourself?" Marluxia commented smugly from across the table.

Before Roxas could argue, Xaldin interrupted, "Yes, go see what's happened. Vexen and Lexaeus should be able to handle themselves should a certain…" Xaldin trailed off, aware that Xemnas was suddenly listening. Xaldin cleared his throat and finished, "Just go. See what's wrong, and who was screaming."

Roxas stood up, defeated, and opened up a portal. He was about to leave, when he was stopped by Xigbar's comments.

Xigbar was currently commenting on what had happened upstairs, angling one of his weapons he had summoned forth at Axel, "Demyx probably got scared because the berserker twitched or something."

Axel let out a groan and opened his eyes slowly, blinking as he took in his surroundings. And the first thing that he saw was the front end of Xigbar's weapon pointing inches away from his face. Axel reeled backwards, swearing, "Ahh! Dammit Xigbar! What the heck were you doing that for?!"

Xigbar grinned lopsidedly. "Doing what?"

"Point your gun somewhere other than my face!" Axel snapped, his voice laced with fury despite being awake for only seconds.

Xigbar adopted what he thought was an innocent expression as he cradled his weapon lovingly, "I was going to shoot you with some gun arrows if you didn't wake up soon." Xigbar shot Axel an evil little grin.

"…" Axel furrowed his eyebrows and glared at the smiling Freeshooter, silent.

"Cat got your tongue?" Xigbar drawled, lazily flicking his attention to Zexion, who flattened his ears against his head and gave Xigbar an icy glare.

"…"

Zexion began to plot what he could do to the grinning sniper.

Xigbar suddenly leapt from his chair with a loud yelp of surprise as flames began to flicker around Axel, as the red-head lashed out at him "…Whoa! Watch it! I only got one eye left!" Xigbar backed away from Axel, neatly avoiding some stray flames emanating from red-head's fuming form. "Xaldin, tell him to stop!"

Roxas rolled his eyes, amused, when Xaldin made no move to help his friend, stating that Xigbar was a higher rank, so he should tell Axel to stop. Roxas considered staying to watch, but didn't when a stream of flame shot by within inches of his face. Roxas vanished into the portal before any real damage could be done.

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I have to stop leaving so much time between chapters. It makes me feel bad. Anyway, I like how this chapter turned out. I added a bit more description in it and may have slightly changed the way it flowed as you read it. It seems better to me either way. I really should go back and edit earlier chapters, but I'm not entirely sure how to do that. I hope you all liked how this chapter turned out and it would be great if you let me know what you thought about it. Or if there should be more descriptions than I used here (like if there should be more attention payed to scenery).

I've found that taking a bit of time to edit and reedit makes the chapter a lot better, so, I hope to at least update one or twice more during the summer (maybe more, depending on how long it takes to get the chapters done and edited). Since it does seem to take me awhile, here's a little preview of the next chapter: Xemnas announces his plans to share the 'happy' feeling he has and wants to do it in the form of a party. Vexen and a few others try and figure out if it'd be better to stop him or let it play out. Zexion gets stuck helping the Superior come up with a name and help him with...a poem? Zexion is not amused, but Axel is.

So, until next time, thanks for reading and/or reviewing!


	32. Meeting plus Xemnas's plan

(Rest of A/N at the end of chapter). Good news, chapter 33 is nearly done, meaning that I'll get it up much sooner.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Kingdom Hearts series.

* * *

Saix's room…

Also known as the point of no return, (as dubbed by Axel and Xigbar jokingly) for anyone foolish enough to go into the berserker's room without permission.

As Roxas headed for number seven's room, he couldn't help but let a shudder run through him. He didn't think anyone would go out of their way to irritate Saix, but from the stories he had heard from other organization members, it seemed like no one knew that it would be a good idea to leave Saix alone if he wasn't in the mood to see another Nobody.

Roxas halted outside of the door that led to Saix's room, and frowned slightly. He still wasn't sure whether to believe the stories he heard (especially Axel's-there was no way the redhead had 'accidentally' set the room on fire, thereby incurring the wrath of the blue haired man). Roxas sighed. Axel had shown him a scar which he swore up and down Kingdom Hearts that it was from that day when Saix had caught him for damage and trespassing.

Of course, Axel could be exaggerating the events. It didn't take much to get on Saix's wrong side. Even if Saix knew Axel from before they were Nobodies, there was only so much Saix was willing to let slide and tolerate. Apparently room destruction had crossed the line

Roxas entered the room cautiously, as though expecting an immediate response to his sudden intrusion. Nothing happened. Roxas relaxed ever so slightly and edged into the room a bit more, glad the moonlight from Kingdom Hearts was more or less lighting the otherwise dark room with a soft glow. Just as Roxas was about to take a sigh of relief, he found himself suddenly flattened against a wall as something had thrown themselves at him with great force. Roxas wriggled free of the sudden embrace, managing to identify who had rammed into him. Demyx. The outline of the hair was obvious, even in near darkness.

"Watch where you're going Demyx," Roxas began, then fell silent a moment as he saw Demyx's expression. Hesitantly, Roxas added, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Demyx huddled down near the door and spoke up in a quiet, subdued voice, "It…it's nothing. Saix just startled me…that's all, nothing major." Demyx let out a shaky laugh and tilted his head to look up at Roxas, "Vexen had me hit Saix with some pillars of water to get him to hold still…and um…Lexaeus and Vexen are trying to subdue him now…"

Roxas frowned down at Demyx faintly, "Well…what's wrong with you then?" Roxas wondered why Demyx was acting so scared…it didn't seem like he had been injured…

"…" Demyx appeared to reach some internal conclusion, and stood up, hovering near the door. He paused and turned to face Roxas, the hall light illuminating the Melodious Nocturne's face, revealing a small, tiny smile.

"Demyx?" Roxas asked, confused. What was he doing? Surely he wasn't going to...

Demyx waved lazily at the confused teen and said with a wider smile, "I also had to hit Saix over the head with my sitar, so he'll be annoyed with me for at least a day…"

In the back of the room, a furious roar rang out, accompanied by shouts.

"Hold him still!"

"Look out! He's got his weapon again!"

"Get back!"

Demyx laughed nervously, before turning and fleeing out into the hall, "Thanks Roxas! I owe you one!"

"What? H...Hey! Wait a minute!" Roxas called after the fleeing Demyx, about to go after him when Vexen's voice snapped at him.

"Roxas? Over here! Be quick about it, if you would!"

"He's going berserk again!"

Roxas gave a heavy sigh and reluctantly went further into the room. He was so going to figure out some way to get back at Demyx for this…

121212

Said sitarist appeared in the dining room with a cheerful smile, as if he hadn't just left Roxas to deal with an angry Saix. The sitarist sat down in a chair next to Xigbar's, which was currently vacant, as the Freeshooter and the Flurry of Dancing Flames had begun a wrestling match, as Xaldin had told them not to use weapons in such a small room. Luxord could be seen taking bets on who would win the impromptu match. Xaldin appeared to not be impressed with either display he saw.

Demyx didn't remain in his seat for very long, instead bounding over to where Xemnas was cheering on the two rolling around on the ground. Very odd though it was, Demyx decided to join in and cheer alongside the Superior.

"Go Axel!"

"Get him in a headlock Xigbar!"

Larxene was fighting to control her laughter at the spectacle, while Marluxia was unsure whether to be amused or horrified with Xemnas' actions.

Zexion acted as though no one in the room existed, and was instead concentrating on what to do after this meeting was over. He still wanted to punish Axel somehow…but how?

After another few minutes of wrestling on the ground, Xigbar managed to pin Axel to the ground.

Xigbar grinned down at Axel, who was baring his teeth at him angrily. "Gonna give up?" Xigbar laughed when Axel tried to throw him to one side, and kept him pinned to the ground, refusing to get up until Axel gave in and admitted defeat.

With an annoyed sigh and a glare that promised revenge, Axel went prone and glanced in Xigbar's general direction, "Okay, okay, I give up! Get off of me!"

Xigbar got up and with a grin on his face, did a small dance of victory around the downed Axel. Xigbar halted his jig, and began to speak in a serious tone, "Poor Axel, bested by a superior and no way to take revenge at this time." Xigbar sighed dramatically, "So sad, isn't it? I guess that's what you get when you try to best someone obviously better than you. Oh well. Lesson learned I suppose."

Xigbar then began to recount how the wrestling match had occurred, when Axel suddenly yanked him to the ground by one of his legs, an evil grin on his face. Axel balled up one hand into a fist, taking aim.

Xigbar laid a hand across his forehead, "Alas, victory is short…" Xigbar lamented dramatically, deftly catching Axel's left wrist before the other could hit him over the head.

"Dammit Xigbar, let go!"

"Sore loser, aren't you? I'm allowed to gloat."

Xaldin intervened quickly before anything could escalate, "Would you desist and quit acting like children?"

Axel shrugged indifferently, tugging his wrist out of Xigbar's grasp as he stood up and dropped back into his chair.

Xigbar went back to his chair as well, but shot a disapproving look at Xaldin, "You're no fun." Xigbar lapsed into silence after Xaldin threw him a withering glare. Xigbar sighed. He wasn't about to try Xaldin's patience, especially since he was still injured, and Xaldin appeared to be in one of his moods. Speaking of injuries…Saix wasn't in the room and neither was Roxas…

Demyx avoided eye contact with Xigbar, and therefore missed Xigbar's lopsided grin. Poor Roxas was helping deal Saix, was he?

Xigbar leaned back in his chair, eye closed, a grin tugging at his lips. Roxas was going to be irked with Demyx for awhile, most likely. Roxas probably had been unwilling to stay and Demyx ran off before he could argue.

1212

Roxas was the first to get back to the dining room, still in shock that he had somehow survived an angry Saix. Behind him, there was a small commotion as Lexaeus and Vexen led an overly angered and tired Saix towards a chair. Even though some of the members were injured, Vexen had wanted all of them to participate in the meeting. He didn't want complaints afterwords if someone in the group hadn't gotten a chance to voice an opinion.

Roxas dropped down onto the chair between Axel and Luxord. Roxas pointedly ignored Axel's muffled chuckles at his ruffled appearance.

Next to Xigbar, Demyx leaned back in his chair, looking guilty.

Xigbar noticed this and grinned after a quick look at Roxas, "Oh…so you _did_ ditch Roxas so that he'd have to help out with Saix."

"…" Demyx pretended to be interested in the table top and didn't reply.

Axel twisted in his seat and smirked at Roxas, "Sucks to be you, huh?" Axel winced as Roxas punched him in the shoulder. "Hey, no need to be violent!" Axel admonished as he blocked another punch, grinning as he quickly restrained Roxas, by grabbing one of Roxas' arms to stop his assault on his shoulder, "What'd I do?"

"Let go Axel!"

"Why are you hitting _me_?I wasn't the one who left you behind with Saix."

"…" Roxas grumbled something inaudible and yanked his arm out of Axel's grasp, slumping in the chair with a huff of annoyance.

Across the table, Lexaeus had managed to convince Saix to sit down on a chair, and then had sat down on the chair next to him to make sure the berserker didn't make a scene. Next to Lexaeus sat Vexen, who didn't seem to be very happy with the seating arrangement, as the Graceful Assassin was seated in the chair on his other side.

Marluxia didn't seem to keen on the seating arrangement either, but decided not to say anything, for the moment.

Larxene was currently eying Axel, Roxas, and Demyx malevolently, and the three receiving the stares began to feel uncomfortable.

Zexion was leaning back in his chair, observing everyone in the room in silence, noting the injuries of some of the organization members.

Xemnas still seemed to be off in his own little world, except that now he was attempting to discuss his plans with Saix. The Luna Diviner appeared to not know how to respond, so he opted to listen to Xemnas speak.

"I was thinking of having a party..." Was what Xemnas started to say, and internally Saix was sighing and wondering if he could get away with bodily injury to the ones responisble for Xemnas' odd behavior.

Luxord, seated nearby, was eavesdropping.

Xigbar turned to Demyx and spoke in a low whisper, "So…what happened to Saix?"

"…um…well, you see…"

Axel and Roxas were holding a quiet conversation about why there had been so many Heartless outside the castle, as they avoided eye contact with Larxene, who was now merely glaring at them.

Marluxia was about to ask Larxene what she was doing, when he accidentally bumped into Vexen when he turned to talk to Larxene.

"Pay more attention to your surroundings, number eleven," Vexen snapped irritably, scooting his chair away from the others' chair.

Marluxia turned his attention to sneer at Vexen, his question to Larxene momentarily forgotten, "Why don't you?"

Vexen puffed up indignantly and Marluxia gave an amused grin. He sensed an argument brewing, and since no one seemed to be saying anything important, he decided to rile the blond up a bit. Maybe he'd forget the meeting that way.

"How dare you! You're a lower number, what gives you the right to talk back to me?" Vexen demanded, twitching in disbelief when Marluxia yawned and fixed him with a bored look.

Trying to ignore Vexen going off on a rant at Marluxia, Zexion attempted to speak to Xaldin, but was unable to as Larxene and Axel decided to have a shouting match across the table.

"What did you say?"

"You heard me Larxene. Oh, and quit staring, you're creeping us out."

"I'm trying to decide how to legally fry you all."

"Violence isn't the answer. Got it memorized?"

Larxene stood up, kunai in her hands as she hurled them at the grinning Axel, "Memorize _this_ you bastard!"

Zexion's cat ears flattened against his head as the shouting persisted, dissolving into name calling and other insults as attacks were fired and thrown. He was beginning to get a headache. Why had they all been called there again?

After a few more minutes of confusion, Vexen managed to get silence by lowering the room's temperature. The result was immediate. Vexen allowed the temperature to go back to normal as soon as there was quiet.

Axel was shivering in his chair, and threw a glare at Vexen. He didn't say anything, as the shock of the sudden cold was keeping him quiet for the moment.

Satisfied, Vexen cleared his throat, "Now that you're all stopped bickering…"

"But _you_ were arguing with Marluxia…" Demyx pointed out, before quailing under Vexen's icy glare.

"As I was saying…" Vexen began again, "Axel and Roxas were engaged in battle with a massive amount of Heartless that were converging beneath this castle," Vexen fell abruptly silent as a resounding blast shook the castle.

Xaldin was out of his seat almost immediately, "That must be the Heartless that caused the blast earlier!" Xaldin shook his head irritably, "We can't hold a meeting right now Vexen. I'll take anyone that can fight with me. The injured should stay here until we return. I haven't seen the identity of the Heartless yet."

There was an immediate uproar at Xaldin's statement, and it took nearly a minute for order to be restored.

Xaldin had left to confront the Heartless attacking the castle, taking with him Lexaeus, Demyx (who complained that the Heartless would get the tail he had from the potion), Larxene and an unwilling Roxas.

Vexen sat fuming in his chair, annoyed at the fact that he had to stay here and watch after the 'injured', and in Zexion's case, ears and a tail that made him glare at anyone who tried to get him to go fight. _'They're well enough.'_ Vexen thought sourly, watching the remaining organization members interact with one another.

Zexion decided to attempt to take a nap at the table, as Luxord had come over and sat in the chair next to Marluxia's (that Larxene had been seated on), to see if he knew how to deal with the thorn the plant had stuck him with.

Vexen glanced over to turn his attention to Axel, who was joking around with Xigbar, then looked over to where Xemnas was still monotoning to Saix, with a small hint of excitement in his voice. Vexen broke out of his musings when Marluxia spoke loudly next to him.

"You did _what_ to my plants?"

"I was merely helping Xaldin and Lexaeus. If you have a problem with it, take it up with Xemnas. He was the one who ordered for the dangerous plants to be removed." Luxord responded in a calm tone, wincing as Marluxia snaked a hand around his wrist and brought the injured arm up to examine the thorn embedded in it.

"…"

"Marluxia?"

"Hmm…what? Don't you want the thorn removed?" Marluxia questioned as he turned the hand and examined the wound more closely.

"Well, of course, but weren't you…angry…a moment ago?" Luxord asked, marveling at the abrupt mood change. He had doubts about not being able to experience emotions. Perhaps it was a ploy…

Marluxia shrugged as he continued the inspection of the injury the thorn had inflicted, "I thought we weren't _supposed_ to experience emotions…" He said it somewhat sarcastically, then, "If it was on Xemnas' orders, then there's no point in blaming it on you or the others," Marluxia let go of Luxord's hand, "you'll just need to remove the thorn. It isn't poisonous. Lucky you."

Luxord looked immensely relieved upon finding out that the plant hadn't been poisonous.

Marluxia leaned back in his chair, noticing that Vexen was looking at him curiously, "What?" Marluxia queried in an irritated tone.

Before Vexen could respond, Xemnas suddenly leapt to his feet, startling the other organization members. There was a long silence as they eyed Xemnas, and Xemnas stared back at them all.

When he saw that everyone in the room was looking at him. Xemnas struck what he thought was an imposing figure, before speaking seriously, "Everyone, I have an announcement!"

"Confessing that you're an idiot?" Axel muttered.

Xigbar grinned appreciatively at this.

Marluxia quickly excused himself to his room, mumbling something about how he was feeling tired and faint, and was going to lay down for a few hours.

Vexen watched the Graceful Assassin leave the dining room, and scowled. Marluxia couldn't have been tired. He just didn't want to hear what Xemnas had to announce. Vexen cast a sideways glance at Zexion, and both nodded in mutual agreement. Neither of them had any desire to hear what Xemnas had to say. Just as they were about to rise, hands fell onto their shoulders.

Saix hand one hand on Vexen's shoulder, the other on Zexion's, "Xemnas wants you to stay, until he's finished speaking." Saix sent a glare at Axel and Xigbar, both of whom had begun to rise. Relinquishing his grasp on number four and six, Saix took a seat, making it clear with one final glare at the others that he wasn't the only one who was going to suffer through a muddled Xemnas speech.

Xemnas cleared his throat, which meant they were in for a rather long speech.

One hour later…

Axel was half-asleep, attempting to stay alert so that Saix wouldn't notice. It was tough, as Xemnas' monotone voice had begun to wrap up the speech, which had been about the happy feeling he felt, and how he wanted to do something to share it with the rest of the organization. It turned out he wanted to have a party.

Saix's face was expressionless. Of course, he knew that Axel was close to falling asleep, but decided not to fault him on it, this time. Saix's body language appeared to show the Luna Diviner getting more disturbed and unnerved the longer Xemnas spoke.

Zexion had been discreetly discussing under his breath with Vexen, about how to change Xemnas back to normal.

Vexen was unsure whether or not he had an antidote ready, but agreed that, even though it was somewhat amusing, Xemnas needed to be back to his normal, irritable, and Kingdom Hearts obsessed self.

Xemnas waited silently then, waiting for Xaldin and the others to come back. It didn't take much longer, and Xaldin and the others returned to the dining room, tired and annoyed looking. Upon seeing Xemnas look expectantly at them, they all held back a sigh and sat down in any available chair.

There was a small commotion as Larxene had went to drag Marluxia back into the dining room and the man was obviously very unhappy about it.

Xemnas waited patiently for them to stop talking and arguing. Once it was quiet, Xemnas cleared his throat and began to read off a piece of paper he seemingly wrote within the past couple of minutes.

"I will oversee the party details, and will make sure that everyone will help out." Xemnas glanced at the Freeshooter, who was lounging in his chair, "Xigbar, I want you to find party streamers and put them up. Also, get snacks from Twilight Town." Seeing a lazy wave of conformation, Xemnas continued, "Xaldin, you'll be going with Xigbar to Twilight Town. You'll also be in charge of setting up tables and arranging the snacks. Vexen, I want you to freeze the right section of the floor in The Hall of Empty Melodies. You'll be on standby after that. Lexaeus, I'd like you to bring in the tables and instruct the lower-rank Nobodies to be ready to help us when needed," Xemnas paused, then resumed speaking, "Zexion, could you…"

"I am not doing any illusions," Zexion stated bluntly.

Xemnas appeared disappointed, but recovered quickly, "Very well, you'll be on standby for now then. Saix, you will assist me in overseeing the party preparations. Axel, don't burn anything down, and help anyone that needs it. You also have kitchen duty. Demyx, I want you to make water balloons, many, for later…"

Xigbar looked gleeful all of a sudden, while Axel looked sullen and unamused.

Xemnas continued speaking, as though ignoring any possible complaints, "Luxord, I'd like you to do some card tricks during the party, so you'll be on standby beforehand. Marluxia, I want you to find some non-lethal plants for decoration."

Marluxia frowned, disappointed that Xemnas was aware enough to give him that order. Sighing, Marluxia stood up and left through a portal, to look for appropriate plants.

Once he was gone, Xemnas resumed speaking, "Larxene, if you would go help Marluxia. Oh, and no electrocuting anyone. You'll be on standby once the two of you are done getting the plants out ad in place."

Larxene was somewhat disappointed, but with plans of causing some trouble with water balloons, left through a portal, casting a glance over her shoulder as she went.

Demyx sunk back against his chair, really not liking the look the Savage Nymph had thrown his way.

Xemnas finished up with, "Roxas. You will help Saix and myself with overseeing preparations." Seeing a sullen nod from the teen, Xemnas proclaimed, "Let's begin!"

As soon as the other organization members had left, Xemnas had pulled Roxas and Saix to one side to question them.

* * *

I updated (finally). Thank you for the reviews, sorry about the wait, and thanks for being patient. School plus family issues made my motivation very low and I didn't want to type when I was in a bad mood. Luckily the new KH BBS trailer (and Braig) put me in a better mood, and I started playing the other KH games. So then I felt motivated again. Since the next chapter is nearly finished, I hope to get it up within the week.

The next chapter should be nearly as long as this one, and more detailed. And let me know if anything sounded off in this chapter-I edited while I had a headache.

I've also decided to list the in-progress stories at the top of my profile page, and will attempt to update that list once a week to show where I'm at with the stories, so you can have a better idea of when the next update will be.

I'll let people imagine what Vexen, Roxas and Lexaeus had to do to treat Saix's injuries. (sidenote-this chapter used to be both 32 and 33, but got to be too long, so I split it). Party will be the next two-three chapters.

So, until next time (hopefully a week) thanks for reading and/or reviewing!


	33. Party setup and Antics

After a few revisions, here's the next chapter! It was a lot of fun to write.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Kingdom Hearts series.

Chapter 33.

Xigbar had moved off to the Gray Area, where he stood to one side, watching the other organization members get to work on their assigned tasks for the party. He was supposed to decorate and get food, huh? Xigbar sighed, running a hand reflectively down his scar. Who did the Superior think he was? Xemnas should have told him to keep an eye on the others and make sure they did what they were supposed to…and shoot them if they were slacking. Xigbar grinned at the thought, before sighing. He shouldn't have to run such tedious errands…Xigbar stretched. Well…might as well get it over with. He was looking forward to the party. He could be amused with it…

Xigbar walked over to where Xaldin was staring out the window up at Kingdom Hearts, as though silently asking where the sanity of the organization had gone. Xigbar figured that it had already packed up and ran away as fast as it possibly could. Xigbar quickly caught a hold of one of Xaldin's arms when he had seen that the other was going to walk away, "Want to get the food and decorations now and be done with it?"

Xaldin tugged his arm out of Xigbar's grasp as he created a portal with his other hand, "If it gets us away from the madness for awhile." He indicated Xemnas talking animatedly with Saix and Roxas, "I will be glad when he is back to normal."

"Yeah…" Xigbar agreed absently, eye fixed on Axel, who was standing near Xemnas and the others, as though trying to figure out how to disrupt the little meeting. Xigbar grinned suddenly, "Go on ahead, I'll be there after I get him." Indicating said redhead, Xigbar headed in his direction, as Xaldin shook his head and went through the portal.

Axel didn't notice Xigbar until the other was right next to him and holding his hood in a vice grip. Axel cast an irritable look over his shoulder, "What?"

Xigbar kept his grip on the hood and tugged it lightly, "Since you're not doing anything at the moment, you can come with me and Xaldin. We need to get food and decorations, remember? Oh, and Xemnas said you were supposed to help others if they needed it, right?" Xigbar heard Axel heave an annoyed sigh, but otherwise didn't argue. Opening another portal, Xigbar spoke up again, "Well, then, let's go!" He let go of Axel and walked through.

Axel trailed after him with a sigh, before deciding that if he could get through the party preparations, the actual party would be entertaining.

121

Vexen was in the Hall of Empty Melodies, freezing a section of the floor on the left side of the room. Vexen's right hand was extended and moving from side to side as he froze the floor, while he thought of how quickly he would be able to make an antidote for Xemnas. The other question would be how to get the Superior to drink it without raising suspicion. Despite Xemnas' thoughts being muddled, Vexen didn't think he would be easily fooled. Perhaps if he could make the antidote tasteless...then he could slip it in a drink...yes...that could be possible...

Lexaeus entered the room with two fold out tables that he had found in a storage room, and paused a moment to glance at Vexen, who appeared to be in deep thought as he froze the floor. Hefting the tables, Lexaeus set them up on the opposite side of the room. As he unfolded the tables, Lexaeus sighed when he recalled what he had been doing before looking for the tables. He had all but given up trying to instruct all of the lower-ranking Nobodies, instead instructing a few of the smarter ones to pass on the message to the rest. He hoped they would be able to all understand the instructions.

Lexaeus finished setting the tables up, before leaving the room again to get more. The storage room was lager than he had thought, and contained more junk than he thought possible of the small room. He strongly suspected, after finding some rouge plants, that that particular room was used to hide dangerous and/or things that were not approved of in the castle. As Lexaeus headed down another hall, he wondered vaguely what the rest of the lower ranking Nobodies thought about what was going on. Amused, perhaps. Lexaeus almost bumped into Demyx, who jumped slightly at the other's sudden appearance.

"Oh, hey Lexaeus…do we have any balloons, or do I have to go buy some?"

Lexaeus blinked down at Demyx, "Unless you or Xigbar have any, you'll need to get some somewhere."

"Oh." Demyx's face fell a bit, but then flashed a smile up at Lexaeus, "Thanks! See you later!" The Melodious Nocturne turned and ran through a portal, presumably to go and get balloons.

As Lexaeus resumed walking, a thought occurred to him. Why hadn't he or even the rest of the organization just restrain Xemnas and keep him in a room somewhere, until he could be given an antidote? Why allow Xemnas to to throw a party when he never would have were he in the right state of mind?

121

Marluxia and Larxene had finished bringing plants into the Hall of Empty Melodies, and between them, were finishing up placing them all around the room. There were even some pots that were perched precariously on the window sills. One good shove and they'd fall down, maybe onto someone.

Larxene settled a fern in one corner of the lower floor, before straightening up and turning her attention to Marluxia…

…who was currently in the process of setting a large potted colorfully tropical-looking plant carefully on the ground, near where Vexen stood surveying the frozen floor critically.

Larxene crossed her arms and leaned against a nearby wall when she noticed that a vine from the plant Marluxia was fussing over was inching its way to Vexen, who was a foot or so away.

3…2…1...and…go!

"Ahh! Marluxia! The Superior said _non_-lethal plants! What part of that didn't you understand?" Vexen snapped, on the ground now and trying to get the vine to let go of his left leg. When Vexen attempted to pull his leg away, the vine merely tightened more.

Marluxia pretended to just realize Vexen was there, but the smirk on his face made the other know he knew he was there before. Giving Vexen a bored look, Marluxia shrugged, "It is a non-lethal plant, Vexen. Its curious, that's all. Most of my plants don't see people other than me, you know. It should let go soon…"

Which the plant did, seconds later.

Vexen backed away from it anyway, before getting to his feet and glaring down at Marluxia, looking as though he were thinking of what to say next.

Marluxia stood as well, managing to look Vexen in the eyes without tilting his head up at all. Then, he curled his lip at the Chilly Academic, "The Superior told me to bring the plants in, and none of them are lethal…I don't see what the problem is."

Vexen would have liked to argue against that, but instead let out a yelp when something grabbed him.

Marluxia tilted his head up to see Vexen dangling upside-down, legs wrapped by vines from the upper floor.

Larxene watched with interest as Vexen hurled chunks of ice down at Marluxia, screeching all the while about how he never got any respect. Marluxia merely dodged the ice, though he eventually realized that he hadn't fully recovered from his injuries.

Vexen sneered triumphantly when an ice chuck hit Marluxia's arm, promptly freezing most of that limb, but the moment of triumph didn't last, "What's wrong Number 11? Are your skills rusty or are you really just useless when it comes to fighting? Not very graceful like your title suggests, are you?" Vexen questioned scathingly. He then decided he probably shouldn't have said that, as the pink haired man, in response, summoned his scythe and leapt up at Vexen, who quickly summoned his shield.

Marluxia swung his scythe one-handed down at Vexen, who barely managed to block the attack. Undeterred, Marluxia landed on the upper floor, waving the scythe to get the vines to lift Vexen up over the second floor. Marluxia didn't care whether he were injured or not. At least Vexen had frozen his injured limb. He wouldn't take insults from the blond if he could retaliate. Marluxia leapt into the air again and, taking aim, swung the scythe, scowling as Vexen managed to block again. Damn shield.

Larxene had jumped up to the balcony to get a better view, but just as it was starting to get good, Larxene spotted something that made her sigh in disappointment. She had wanted to see Marluxia injure Vexen, but it seemed like that wasn't going to happen today. Too bad, since Marluxia had seemed to gain the upper hand despite being injured. Oh well, there was always the party...

121

Vexen's arms were getting tired from blocking Marluxia's scythe, and wondered how much longer he could hold up if no reinforcements came to help. He had seen Larxene watching, but knew she wouldn't intervene…at least she wasn't attacking him as well. Vexen braced himself as Marluxia slashed down at him again, letting out a gasp as the shield was knocked from his grasp. Not good.

Marluxia allowed himself an evil grin as he twisted his scythe to bring it around for another attack, then let out a confused sound when two lances suddenly came out of nowhere, crossing and blocking his scythe from reaching Vexen. Before Marluxia could understand what had just happened, another lance knocked the scythe from his hand. Marluxia landed on the ground next to a wall, wincing as two more lances came out of nowhere and pinned him against the nearby wall by crossing and burying themselves in the wall on either side of his stomach. Marluxia frowned unhappily. The lances kept him from moving his arms. The sixth lance was suddenly hovering dangerously close to his throat. Marluxia glanced up to see Xaldin holding the lance and looking down at him with obvious disapproval.

Xaldin glanced between Marluxia (who was livid) and Vexen (who was relieved), before looking back at Marluxia, "I won't ask what caused this, but let Vexen down and finish the tasks the Superior gave you." Xaldin paused, then added, "Go find Larxene after that." Xaldin backed away, lances vanishing.

Marluxia moodily waved a hand, and the vines holding Vexen retreated, dropping the blond suddenly.

Vexen managed to land on his feet, and turned quickly to scold Marluxia. Who was leaving the room at a rapid pace via a nearby door.

"Are you all right Vexen?" Xaldin questioned.

"I'm fine…" Vexen said distractedly, then suddenly turned to Xaldin, looking confused, "Where is Xigbar? He went with you, right?"

Xaldin answered the query with a shrug, "Xigbar said he and Axel were going to get a few more banners. We had already brought back the food to the kitchen. I came in here to see how things were progressing." Xaldin eyed Vexen's ruffled appearance, "I suppose it was good that I did."

"Yes." Vexen responded, though his eyes were narrowed and looking at the door that Marluxia had gone through.

Xaldin held in a sigh. If Vexen wasn't asking him why Axel had tagged along, then the blond must have been preoccupied with thoughts of how to punish Marluxia for being rude or something along those lines. Great. Now he had to keep an eye on both Vexen _and_ Marluxia, to make sure that neither were going to try and rid themselves of the other. Xaldin shook his head. Why did things have to be so difficult? And speaking of difficult…he hoped that Axel and Xigbar really were just getting a few more banners…and not causing trouble in Twilight Town.

121

Twilight Town looked as it always did, but they weren't there for Sea-Salt ice cream.

"What exactly are you looking for, Axel?" Xigbar questioned as they walked past some shops and headed towards the Sandlot. The crowd more or less ignored them, which was good. Xigbar glanced over at the red-head, expecting a response.

Axel merely smiled in reply, but otherwise offered no answer.

Xigbar shifted a bag of banners to his left hand, but didn't press for answers. He figured he'd find out soon enough.

Within a minute, Axel was peering around a corner at the Sandlot, eying something.

Xigbar followed Axel's gaze, and saw what he was looking at. The two of them exchanged a grin. There was a trampoline folded up and no one was nearby it.

Axel and Xigbar headed over to the trampoline, thinking it would be easy to push through a portal. Before they could even open up a portal, however, a voice spoke up arrogantly.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing around here?"

Axel and Xigbar turned around and saw three teens, and the one that had spoken was glaring at them, the other two teens standing on either side of him.

Seeing that he was being paid attention to, the teen spoke again, "You tryin' to take our trampoline?"

"That's wrong, ya know."

"Theft."

Xigbar and Axel exchanged amused glances, then, with a few deft movements, knocked the teens down and quickly shoved the trampoline through a portal before the teens could recover.

The portal vanished as Seifer struggled upright, bewildered when he saw the trampoline and the two men in black coats gone. Seifer scowled, "Hey! Where'd they go with the trampoline?"

"They're gone, ya know?"

"Vanished."

Seifer whacked the two of them over the head, "Stuff doesn't just vanish into thin air!" Seifer fumed for a bit, before stalking off towards Hayner, Pence and Olette, all of whom had just entered the sandlot.

Rai and Fuu exchanged glances.

"Seifer's angry, ya know?"

Fuu watched as Seifer and Hayner started struggling, before she nodded in agreement with Rai, "Furious."

121

Xaldin had left the Hall of Empty Melodies, so he did not see Axel and Xigbar exiting a portal with a trampoline, and setting it up in the middle of the room.

Xigbar had Axel toss banners up at him as he walked around upside-down, putting up the banners, as well as streamers, having picked up a lot of colors. And, to mostly annoy the others, scrawled capital letters across most of the banners, stating 'happy' expressions. Axel laughed when he was what Xigbar was doing.

They were going to have so much 'fun' with this party.

121

A few hours later…

Xemnas was quite pleased with the progress his idea had made. Yes, the rest of his organization would soon witness his happy-inducing idea full force. Xemnas meandered the Grey Area, observing the activity going on around him. Soon…his idea would come to life and take place in the Hall of Empty Melodies. Something so amazing he didn't know why he hadn't thought of it before. Yes…he called it…

"The Superior's party in the Hall of Empty Melodies that will cause others to experience happiness as an emotion therefore lifting moral and making everything wonderful!" Xemnas proclaimed dramatically in the middle of the room, drawing forth a range of reactions, from surprise to annoyance to amusement.

"The title appears to be a bit long, Xemnas." Saix stated from where he was carrying a stack of plates. Why they needed so many plates was a mystery, as there were only thirteen of them.

Xemnas appeared to ponder Saix's words for a moment, before nodding curtly, "Yes, it does seem…hmm."

Zexion slid up to Saix's side, muttering, "Why are you encouraging him?"

"…" Saix continued on his way to the Hall of Empty Melodies, leaving Zexion to be set upon by a concerned Xemnas.

"Zexion, how does 'The Superior's happy inducing emotion party sound'?" Xemnas asked, straight faced and completely serious.

Still annoyed that Saix hadn't answered him, Zexion responded a little reluctantly, "It sounds a bit strange." Zexion was about to walk away, when Xemnas seized his left arm and proceeded to rattle off several more names to call his party. Eventually, Zexion caved in and agreed to one of the names Xemnas had come up with.

While Xemnas raced off to inform Saix, Zexion sank down onto a nearby chair, tail curling loosely around his legs. Ears twitching in agitation, Zexion tried to devise a strategy to avoid Xemnas' 'happy' emotion party. For some reason, he had a bad feeling about the whole thing. What was worse, Marluxia was actually following orders. It didn't bode well, especially with the evil leers that had been sent his way as the man put up flowers and potted plants around in the Hall of Empty Melodies. Like he was planning something. Zexion had quickly vacated the room…Zexion's ears twitched again as he heard someone approach. He identified the scent and scowled lightly. Axel…that smirking bastard…

"What'cha doing Zexy?"

…was going to be strangled if he bothered the Cloaked Schemer for much longer…

"What do you want?" Zexion asked in a weary tone, eying the red-head, as though daring him to get any closer.

Axel wisely stayed out of the shorter man's reach as he spoke, "So, what did the Superior decide to call his idea?" Grinning at the strained look on Zexion's face, Axel pressed for info, "Well? What is it?"

Avoiding eye contact, Zexion replied tonelessly, "The Superior's Party of Emotion. The Superior's POE for short."

Axel stared at Zexion for a moment, before grinning again, "The superior's poe?" Axel dissolved into laughter, and raced off to pester Roxas and Demyx, to tell them the title Xemnas decided upon.

Zexion sunk further into the chair, hoping he'd make it through this so called party.

1212

Xigbar and Xaldin were resting on the ground of the upper floor of the Hall of Empty Melodies. They were taking a break when they saw Saix enter the room a floor below them. Xaldin looked away, only to have an amused Xigbar nudge him sharply in the ribs. Aiming a swipe at the man, who avoided easily, Xaldin directed his attention to Saix again. Then saw what Xigbar was grinning down at.

Saix was currently staring at the banners placed haphazardly all over the place, ranging from orange, red, blue, and several more colors, making it look garish along with the letters on them, stating happy expressions.

Xigbar had trouble not laughing aloud, as Saix's expression was a mixture of horror and disgust.

Xemnas dashed into the room suddenly, almost bursting with excitement as he spotted Saix and hurried over to him.

Saix heard him approach, and as he turned, his expression went back to a neutral one, "Superior?" He questioned, wondering if the other were perhaps angry that he had walked off.

Xemnas didn't even register the use of the title, and instead responded, "I have come up with a name for the party that isn't as long."

Saix said nothing.

Xemnas continued, "I will call it…The Superior's Party of Emotion, or, the Superior's POE!" Xemnas didn't see Saix's confused look, but he did hear Xigbar's failed attempt at hiding his laughter, and Xaldin's cough. Xemnas glanced up in their general direction, "Xigbar. Xaldin. Did you finish your errands?"

Xigbar fought the urge to continue laughing, as he stood and peered over the railing and responded, "Y..Yes sup…Superior!" Xigbar ducked down to continue his laughter in silence.

"We were taking a break," Xaldin added, seeing that Xigbar wasn't going to be able to string together a coherent sentence for awhile.

But Xemnas was already pestering Saix again, having momentarily forgotten Xigbar and Xaldin. "Saix, you and I will go back to The Grey Area to find Zexion so that I may create a poem with which to open the party with." Xemnas grabbed the Luna Diviner's arm and led him off before any protests could be made, accompanied by Xigbar's laughter at the thought of Xemnas writing poetry.

Xaldin gave the other a disapproving look, while Xigbar ignored him and spoke.

"Can't wait to see what happens. Bet it's all going to go in a different direction than the Superior thinks. Like Axel and Marluxia and Zexion starting a fight. Bet Zexion would win."

"…" Xaldin didn't argue, because he agreed. At least, he agreed with the part where some of the organization members would get into a fight. He sighed, hoping Vexen would be able to find an antidote to fix Xemnas. And not waste his time trying to punish Marluxia for what happened earlier in the day.

121

Zexion detected Xemnas and Saix's scents heading in his direction, and half rose, trying to decide whether or not to make a run for it. After thinking about what Xemnas might want from him, Zexion decided to run and hide. The Cloaked Schemer only made it a few feet before he was collared by Axel, who had just come through a portal, and clung to the smaller man like a limpet. Zexion did not approve and tried to move away.

"What's wrong? Where are you going?" Axel wondered as he avoided a kick in the shin by an unhappy Schemer. Axel kept his grip to prevent the other's escape, "You trying to avoid getting involved in the party, or is the Superior coming back?"

Zexion was about to respond, when Xemnas entered the room, glaring at Axel.

"Shoo." Xemnas said, waving one hand at the red head.

Axel raised an eyebrow, but with a grin let go of Zexion and walked off, "See you Zexion."

Waiting impatiently for Saix to come over, he grabbed both Saix and Zexion's hands, leading them over to where a table had been set up temporarily. Once they were seated at the table, Xemnas excitedly launched into why there was a need to have a poem to open the party up with that would take place later that day.

Axel dearly wanted to eavesdrop, but was called over to one side by Luxord, "Yeah, what's up?"

"Vexen and Lexaeus want you in the kitchens, take Demyx and Roxas with you," Luxord responded.

"Okay…" Axel replied, then questioned, "What are you doing then?"

"Overseeing the different props being brought to the Hall of Empty Melodies," Luxord stated, before watching Xemnas still talking excitedly.

Axel frowned unhappily, but shrugged, "Right…" He went over to where Roxas and Demyx were filling up water balloons. "Hey you two, over here." Roxas and Demyx abandoned the balloons for the time being, as they walked through the portal to the kitchen. The last thing they heard was Xemnas complaining.

"No! Happy must be used in the poem several times! That's the whole point of it!"

121

The kitchen was full of prepared and unprepared food, and an irate Vexen set upon Axel as soon as he exited the portal.

"You're late! Get the stove and oven running!" Vexen snapped, glaring at the redhead.

Axel gave Vexen a mock salute, and went over to the oven and turned it on, making a show of how 'hard' it was. Ignoring the fuming Vexen, Axel waved a hand at the burners of the stove, igniting them. Laying the back of his hand across his forehead, Axel let out a long sigh, "Oh, that was_ so_ difficult. I think I need to go and rest…" He made a break for the door, only to be grabbed by the hood by Lexaeus, who gave him a look.

Axel let out a light laugh, "Eheheheh…just kidding?" When Lexaeus let go, Axel went about cooking the raw food, muttering about how some of the organization members could be slave drivers. Axel frowned suddenly, "Hey…why did you want Demyx in here?"

"Probably to put out any fires that might be started in the wrong places," Roxas stated, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Ignoring Axel, who had just lit a fire in the corner of the kitchen out of spite, the teen spoke calmly to Vexen, "Is there anything else that needs to be done here?" Roxas paused, deciding he didn't like the look on Vexen's face.

"…Help Demyx clean up after Axel."

Another fire was lit, and Demyx could be heard scolding the Flurry of Dancing Flames.

"Axel! Stop it!"

"Stop what?"

"Burning things!"

"..."

"Ahh! Don't set me on fire!"

"Good luck," Vexen said with a very faint smirk, as he left the kitchen with Lexaeus.

Roxas frowned as he watched the dirty dishes pile up, and Demyx putting out small fires that Axel started as the redhead moodily cooked the food. Roxas sighed. Clean up would take awhile once Axel was through with the kitchen…

121

After Axel had finished cooking, Demyx had gone back to filling balloons up with water and setting them in the crates he had found in the storage room. He politely pretended to not over hear what was going on at a nearby table, because the Melodious Nocturne noticed that Zexion looked extremely unhappy, and it wasn't just because he had a tail and ears.

"How does this line sound, Zexion?"

"Which one?" Zexion asked in a bored voice, not caring that Saix was sending him warning glares to just humor the Superior. Zexion really didn't want to. He had already had enough of Xemnas acting weird and was going to find Vexen as soon as the party started to make an antidote.

Xemnas seemingly already forgot about the line, and was instead scribbling something, which he handed over to Saix, "Well?" Xemnas asked, when Saix merely stared at the words with a blank look.

Zexion could sense that Saix was trying to find words that wouldn't be insulting. Zexion settled in his chair with a faint smile. This would be entertaining...

After another minute, Saix finally spoke, "You may want to redo the whole thing...or the others won't understand."

Luckily, Xemnas didn't take it as an insult, and instead went back to scribbling.

Zexion and Saix exchanged a look. The Cloaked Schemer understood then that Saix was trying to get the poem to not sound horrible or embarrassing.

It made him wonder whether or not that was a good thing.

Later in the evening…

Roxas was currently locked in his room, fuming about the amount of dishes he and Demyx had had to clean. Just because Axel had been mad at Vexen didn't mean he needed to make nearly every single dish in the kitchen dirty.

Axel was outside Roxas' room, apologizing and trying to coax him out of the room, "C'mon Roxas, I said I was sorry, didn't I? Besides, I thought Demyx would have to clean up, not you."

Roxas, however, remained inside his, fuming in silence. He didn't want to talk to Axel anytime soon.

121

Nightime…

The Hall of Empty Melodies was now full of all kinds of party paraphernalia, including colorful banners and, courtesy of Axel, a trampoline he and Xigbar had smuggled in from Twilight Town. Seifer was probably still racking his brain trying to figure out where it was, while Rai and Fuu interjected unhelpful tidbits.

One banner, bigger than all the rest and spread across the upper level railing, proclaimed:

'The Superior's Party of Emotion'

Zexion and the rest of the organization, minus Axel, Roxas and Xemnas, stood in the entryway, eying what was in the room skeptically.

The trampoline was in the center of the room, with the makeshift ice rink on the left side of the room, currently roped off, and the tables on the right side, laden with mostly edible snacks (Most of the cooked food was inedible) and drinks (It was questionable which drinks were alcoholic or not). A few tables were up on the second floor, but were only covered with tablecloths and candles. The water balloons that Demyx had made were off to the right side on the upper floor, in three crates.

Xemnas strutted into the room and turned about, facing the rest of the organization. He produced a slip of paper from a black and white suit he had scrounged up from somewhere in the depths of his closet. Upon the slip of paper was penned his completed poem that he had made with help from Zexion and Saix.

Xemnas cleared his throat and announced, "Before we begin, I have a poem to grace the party with…" Xemnas monolouged away, saying that he hoped everyone would have a good time and perhaps experience the 'happy' feeling he now had.

Zexion ducked behind Lexaeus as Xemnas said the poem in a very serious manner.

"What is this feeling?

Is it happiness?

Who can say what

One may feel.

Happy happiness,

Happy feelings

For all to enjoy."

Xemnas glared around at the others until they clapped a little bit. Xemnas nodded curtly, as though his poem were the best thing ever spoken in all the worlds.

Xigbar was currently laughing silently, about to topple over at the ridiculousness of it all.

Xaldin managed to get Xigbar to not fall over, before he shot Vexen a 'when-will-Xemnas-be-back-to-normal' look, to which Vexen answered with a shrug and a shake of his head. Xaldin frowned, then mouthed 'antidote?'

Vexen matched Xaldin's frown, hesitated, then held up two fingers, indicating that it would take about two days.

Xaldin was about to actually speak, when Xemnas decided to talk again.

"Let the party begin!" Xemnas boomed out in a dramatic voice.

Zexion vacated the lower floor immediately after seeing looks thrown his way by Marluxia and Axel. Zexion hid up on the upper floor, plotting horrible things to do to Axel and Marluxia. He just knew the two of them were going to go after him during the party. If he could make it through the party in one piece, that would be very much appreciated.

"Hey! Who wants to see me do some target practice? I know the perfect _cat_ to use in my demonstration."

…And survive being potentially injured by Xigbar.

Zexion sighed unhappily. It was going to be a long night…

End chapter.

I hope this chapter turned out to be more entertaining than the last. And hey, I got this chapter up (sort of) close to when I thought. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up though, as it needs to be typed up. That's why I decided to make this chapter longer since I don't know. Hopefully the chapter layout is all right.

On a side note, I had a lot of fun writing the scene with Seifer in it. Does that count as bringing in new characters? Cameos from other characters in the game? I think one of the reviews said I should bring in other characters (?), but I'm not going to add OCs if that was what it was, because that would kind of ruin the story. As I'm trying to focus on the Organization in this story. Does the replica count? Hmm.

Well...until next time, thanks for reading and/or reviewing.


	34. Party of Emotion 1

Gah, it took me longer than I thought to update. School is horrible sometimes when you're trying to write out a chapter from bullet point notes. Thanks for being patient, and I'm glad people liked the last chapter. This is shorter, but I wanted to show that I was still updating this story.

Disclaimer: I still own nothing.

* * *

As soon as the party officially began, Zexion quickly vacated the area. He had no desire to be used in any kind of demonstration that Xigbar might think up. Especially since it sounded as if Xigbar was planning on using his weapons to shoot at him. Zexion liked being in one piece. Therefore, he ran, knowing that no one would think about trying to stop him. Everyone else was too busy to notice him leaving the room.

Xemnas was already distracted with the sight of the snacks on the table, and Saix was keeping a close eye on him to make sure he did nothing that he would regret when he was in his right mind. Xemnas eyed a particularly tall black and white cake that was on the nearest table, turning to Saix to comment, "Does it not look good? I don't think we should eat it. It looks too beautiful to eat."

Saix wore a blank expression as he looked at said cake, then glanced back at Xemnas. Silently, the Luna Diviner wondered if he should try and get Xemnas to leave the food alone and go join Roxas, the blond seated in the corner of the room and eying everything in the room with slight apprehension.

Roxas was currently wondering why he was there, though when he thought about, he had nothing to do really. Roxas looked across the room to where Axel and Marluxia were conspiring with one another in quiet tones. Roxas decided that it was probably in his best interest to stay where he was, as he did not like the expressions they wore. They only wore those looks when they were up to something. Since they weren't plotting against one another, Roxas assumed that they were planning on doing something to either Vexen or Demyx, since they were closest to Axel and Marluxia. Roxas settled back in the chair he was seated in. He was probably safe where he was. At least, Roxas hoped he was.

Axel and Marluxia seemed to come to some agreement, because they both nodded and started walking. Right towards an unaware Vexen, who was mumbling to himself what type of antidotes might work on Xemnas. Demyx was safe for the time being, as he had chosen that moment to go and hop onto the trampoline.

Roxas sighed, hoping that he wouldn't get involved with whatever Axel and Marluxia were planning on doing.

121

Once Zexion was out of the Hall of Empty Melodies, he stopped momentarily in the hallway, trying to decide the best place to stay until the party was over. Zexion cast a quick glance over his shoulder, before setting off again at a rather fast pace. Perhaps somewhere that Xigbar wouldn't think to look for him. Zexion rounded the corner, scowling. He wouldn't put it past Xigbar to pop out randomly and drag him off back to the party, if only because he was bored and wanted to be entertained. With potential bodily injury to the Cloaked Schemer.

Zexion allowed himself a faint smile, as he decided that he'd be able to use this time to figure out how to get back at Marluxia and Axel. Zexion frowned as he tried to figure out where he could go that he would be able to avoid detection from Xigbar. _ 'My room isn't a viable option. He would check there first. The next logical place would be to go the laboratory, but Xigbar would no doubt check there as well...perhaps one of the smaller labs wi__ll do.'_ Zexion turned down another hall, his mind made up. He'd go to one of the more unused labs, as he was sure that only he and Vexen, and perhaps Lexaeus, knew where the two least used labs were. Xigbar shouldn't, as the one-eyed man usually amused himself with popping out of thin air into the main laboratory, mostly to annoy/pester/irritate Vexen, who in turn would scold Xigbar for interrupting him during the most important stage of his experiment.

Zexion shook his head. He wanted the madness to end, and getting the Superior back to normal was what was going to make that happen. Although Xemnas would be furious at some members of the organization, it was worth it if he could get back to his scheming uninterrupted. Zexion would have to think of a way to get Vexen to leave the party so that he could help with the antidote for Xemnas. But how to do that without being caught by Xigbar in the meantime...

121

Vexen was preparing to leave the Hall of Empty Melodies, and didn't see two grinning faces come up from behind him. Vexen let out a cry of surprise when Marluxia and Axel grabbed either of his arms and dragged him backwards. "Let go of me!"

Axel and Marluxia merely smiled and continued to drag along the rather irate man.

Xigbar had seen that Zexion had snuck off, and decided to go after him later. He had seen something far more entertaining to occupy him at the moment. Xigbar watched in amusement as Axel and Marluxia all but dragged a protesting Vexen over to the improvised ice rink he had made. Grinning maniacally, Axel and Marluxia shoved Vexen off onto the ice, where the taller man made an attempt to not fall over.

Vexen managed to gain his balance, and was preparing a mini lecture to throw at the other two. Vexen managed to turn around without falling over, which was a good thing in his mind.

Axel and Marluxia exchanged glances, before Axel's grin faded and turned somewhat worried. He didn't like the look being thrown his way by Marluxia. Before Axel could make any protests, Marluxia gave him an abrupt shove, causing Axel to go sliding across the ice and right into Vexen.

Vexen let out another sound of surprise as Axel slid right into him and almost knocked them both over.

Axel used one hand to grab Vexen's shoulder to prevent himself from falling over, before raising his other hand and sending a burst of flames in the Graceful Assassin's direction.

Marluxia retreated a few steps to avoid the blast of flame aimed at him, smirking when the stray fire from the attack melted some of the ice, causing Vexen to slip and fall into the small pool of water. Vexen was about to snap a furious tirade at the pink haired man, when a water balloon hit him over the head, drenching him further.

Axel had let go of Vexen to avoid falling into the water as well, and laughed at the sight of the water balloon hitting Vexen over the head and drenching him.

Marluxia grinned as well and joined Xigbar up on the second floor, where he and the freeshooter gleefully chucked the water balloons at random. Unfortunately for Axel, who was busy laughing at Vexen, the redhead failed to notice a larger balloon being thrown his way by Marluxia.

Roxas settled back further in his chair and shook his head as he watched the large water balloon make a beeline for Axel's head.

Axel let out a surprised gasp as the balloon burst open, thoroughly drenching him. Shaking himself in an attempt to get dry, Axel shot a glare of annoyance up at Marluxia, who merely leaned against the railing with a smile and prepared to thrown another water balloon at the irked red head. Axel reached out to hit the balloon with fire, only to find that he couldn't get anything other than smoke or a spark. The balloon hit him straight in the face. Spluttering, Axel made as if to go and head up to the second floor, when Larxene decided that she wanted to join in.

Roxas winced as he saw Larxene summon up some lightning and direct it at Vexen and Axel, both of whom were thoroughly drenched and still getting hit with water balloons.

With a laugh, Larxene zapped both Axel and Vexen, a stray bolt barley missing Demyx, who had up until now been jumping on the trampoline.

After seeing the maniacal gleam in Larxene's eyes, Demyx quickly vacated the trampoline when he saw her moving toward him in order to get a better aim at the two on the ice rink. Demyx joined Xigbar and Marluxia up on the second floor, where the water balloons had momentarily been forgotten by the one eyed man, though Marluxia was still gleefully hurling them, now making sure he did not to hit Larxene.

"What are you doing, Xigbar?" Demyx wondered, seeing the frown that had made its way onto Xigbar's face, as if he were thinking about something.

Xigbar smiled at the confused Melodious Nocturne, "I'll be back. I just thought of something to go get for the party." Xigbar walked off, thinking that he'd check for Zexion in the laboratory. It seemed like somewhere the Cloaked Schemer would go.

Before Demyx could ask what it was that Xigbar was getting, the freeshooter had already left the room. Demyx eyed Marluxia apprehensively, trying to decide if he should join in with the balloon throwing, or if he'd be safer sitting on the chairs where Roxas was. With stray bolts of lightning going everywhere, and Xaldin approaching Marluxia with a faintly irritated expression, Demyx decided that it would probably be safer.

Xemnas, meanwhile, was commenting about all of the decorations and cake to Saix, who was now wearing a long suffering expression. He didn't think he could handle more talk about how the cakes were too good looking to be eaten.

"I really like this one. It almost looks like the castle," Xemnas continued on as if he hadn't noticed Saix's change in expression. Behind them, Demyx was darting across the room and dodging lightning bolts as he raced for the relative safety of where Roxas was hiding in the corner of the room.

Saix wondered whether Zexion's absence meant that he had gone off to work on the antidote for Xemnas. Saix turned back in when Xemnas asked him what he thought about the cakes. Saix took a deep breath, wondering what the other wanted him to say. "They look...too good to eat. As you said." The Superior beamed at him, and Saix didn't know what to say. It was a disturbing look to see on Xemans' face. Again, Saix hoped that Zexion was off doing something useful. He didn't know how much more of this he could take.

* * *

I'm on my summer break now, so I hope I can get something up sooner. There'll be one to two more chapters more for the party, then one to three for the aftermath. After that, I'd be open to suggestions as to what to do after all that.


	35. Party of Emotion 2

A/N will be after the chapter from now on.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

* * *

Zexion was running some calculations, frowning unhappily as each calculation showed longer amounts of time to come up with an antidote for Xemnas. Zexion went through different combinations of the formulas, but still came up with one to three days for a completed antidote. Zexion tried again, until he came up with one that would be done within six to twelve hours. Much better than the previous calculations. Zexion turned and walked around the lab, gathering necessary ingredients, and got to work immediately. He could only hope that his work wasn't interrupted.

-x

Saix moved away from Xemnas' side momentarily. The Superior had joined Xaldin at another one of the snack tables, and was currently giving a critique of one of the dishes. Saix caught Xaldin's eyes, and the black-haired man nodded, as if to say that he'd keep an eye on Xemnas. Saix, satisfied with this, walked away from the two, and stalked towards Axel, who was still drying out from the water balloons that had hit him, and was currently lounging on the couch, eating a sea-salt ice cream. Saix silently watched the conversation going on, waiting for a good time to interject.

Axel waved his ice cream bar at Roxas, "Hey Rox, you know where Luxord got to?"

Roxas shrugged in response, eating his own sea-salt ice cream. Besides, it didn't really concern him what Luxord was up to. If anything, he was smart enough to get away from the madness the party had turned into.

Demyx had declined an ice cream, and cast a glance over to the half-melted ice rink, where Vexen and Marluxia stood glaring daggers at one another. Demyx turned his attention back to Axel, "Luxord said that he was going to go get a mission done. He said he'd be 'back as soon as he finished the game'."

Axel heard cursing, and turned in time to see Marlxuia now engaged in an argument with Lexaeus, during which Larxene was happily sending off more lightning bolts at an unamused Vexen.

Vexen managed to dodge the bolts, and summoned up his shield in time to deflect another one. While Larxene was preparing to send another bolt, Vexen promptly portaled away, muttering under his breath about not getting any respect from the neophytes.

Larxene was disappointed that a target had gotten away, and contented herself for the time being to watch Marluxia and Lexaeus argue about the use of the ice rink and whether or not other members were fair game.

Saix saw Vexen's departure, and wondered if that meant that the blond man was going to go to the laboratory and get something to fix Xemnas with. Saix turned his eyes back to the three in the corner.

Axel had finished his sea-salt ice cream, and was flipping the stick up and down, "If you ask me, it is pretty interesting in here. Luxord should have taken bets on would would leave the room first, and who would be the first unconscious."

By now, both Roxas and Demyx had noticed Saix's presence, while Axel was still apparently oblivious to the fact that the blue-haired man was frowning down at him.

Axel was still flipping the sick up and down, "Although...maybe Luxord should have taken bets on how long it would take for Xemnas to make a fool of himself."

"Axel."

Axel titled his head and spotted Saix standing next to the couch. The red-head saw the other's expression, and let out a nervous laugh, "Oh, eh heh. Hey, Saix. Something we can help you with?" Axel made as if to get up off the couch and run, but Saix trapped him against it.

Saix brought his face close, "Perhaps you would like to come help me keep an eye on the Superior? After all, I have reason to believe that you're the cause of all this."

"Ah, Saix, why would you say that? I thought we were friends." Axel scooted discreetly backwards from the irked Siax, and looked over at Roxas for help. Roxas, however, was preoccupied with his sea-salt ice cream, and wasn't paying attention. Or maybe he was ignoring him. Axel looked over at Demyx, and saw that the sitarist was sinking against his chair from the sight of a displeased Saix. Axel, of course, wasn't really bothered by Saix's display, and sighed, poking the ice-cream stick at Saix to make him back off, "All right, all right, but what am I supposed to do with Xemnas? He's not even really all there in the head. Isn't it better to leave him alone?"

Saix plucked the stick out of Axel's grasp and glared at the red-head, daring him to say more.

Axel sighed, getting up of the couch, "Calm down man. I'm going. Happy?"

Saix wouldn't admit it, but he was pleased that he had gotten Axel to move. After giving a disproving look to both Roxas and Demyx, Saix turned and went back over to Xemnas, with Axel trailing after him in a gloomy silence.

Roxas and Demyx watched them go, both relieved that they didn't have to deal with Xemnas.

Roxas spotted Luxord entering the Hall of Empty Melodies, and waved to catch the older man's attention. Luxord spotted Roxas, and came over to join them. Roxas frowned a little, "You finished your mission that quickly?"

Luxord smiled pleasantly, "Everything went smoothly, which made things much easier." Luxord was silent as he observed the others in the room, as well as the fact that a few were missing from the room. Luxord turned back, addressing Demyx and Roxas, "Anything of note that happened while I was gone?"

Roxas shrugged, "The usual. Marluxia infuriating Vexen. Axel getting zapped by Larxene. Xemnas being weirder than normal."

Luxord chuckled, and turned, spotting Axel standing over by the snack table wearing an unhappy expression, as Xemnas droned on about a perfect apple. Saix was looking rather frustrated, and Xaldin looked like he were considering leaving the area and saving his sanity. Luxord started to walk in their direction, leaving Roxas and Demyx to watch him leave. The two glanced at each other.

"What do you think he's doing?" Demyx questioned.

Roxas shook his head, "Hopefully it'll be something more interesting than what Xemnas has been doing." He fell silent to watch what would happen.

-x

Xaldin spotted Luxord approaching and after an exchanged glance, Xaldin went off to stop Larxene from sneaking up on an unsuspecting Demyx and Roxas.

Axel wondered why Luxord would want to subject himself to being bored to death by Xenmas' monologue. Saix, on the other hand, appeared to be content to merely wait and see what would happen.

Xemnas spotted Luxord and stopped his current critique, to spread his arms and gesture around the room, "Luxord, what do you think of my party so far?"

Winking at the two other Nobodies, Luxord smiled back at Xemnas, "Excellent. Only you could have pulled off something like this, sir."

Xemnas puffed up importantly, nodding in agreement, "Yes, only I could have pulled off something as magnificent as this."

Axel smothered a cough that sounded suspiciously like a laugh, ignoring the look thrown his way by Saix. Axel couldn't help it. Xemnas was still so serious when he spoke. Axel had trouble not laughing at Xemnas' sudden question.

"I fell as if...I want to sing."

Ignoring the horrified looks on the other Nobody's faces, Luxord played along and threw an arm around Xemnas' shoulder, "Then let us sing, sir."

Saix was wearing a somewhat horrified expression, while Axel, and the nearby Roxas and Demyx, tried hard not to laugh, as Xemnas and Luxord began to sing a sad lament about the lack of hearts and how Kingdom Hearts should be filled with more hearts after the party was complete.

"Oh Kingdom Hearts take pity on us

poor Nobodies with no hearts~

make us whole again, please Kingdom Hearts

a lack of heart makes us feel so empty..."

Axel was laughing too much to hear anymore of the slow song, instead shaking with mirth as he tried to keep the camera in his hands still to tape the singing. Axel, during the beginning of the song, had produced a camera, for future blackmail. He promptly hid his camera once the song had ended, before Saix could take it from him.

Xemnas was leaning against Luxord, wearing a melancholy expression, teary eyed as he spoke, "Ah, the song was so wonderful. We must sing more often."

Luxord patted Xemnas on the shoulder consolingly as he responded, "Of course sir, whenever you want to."

Saix tried to catch Lurxord's eye in order to see what he thought he was doing, encouraging Xemnas like that. The only response from Luxord was a wink and a smile of amusement. Saix didn't find that very encouraging.

-x

Xigbar wandered the castle, telporting from place to place, trying to figure out where Zexion had gotten to. He wasn't in one of Vexen's main labs, so that left the smaller labs scattered about. Xigbar grinned as he teleported away, having a thought of where Zexion may be hiding away.

In some tiny lab in a far corner of the castle...

Zexion had let the antidote for Xemnas sit while it cooled, and turned his attention to finding an antidote to get rid of the furry ears and tail he had sprouted (and a potion for Demyx, to get rid of the tail). He wasn't going to wait for Vexen to take the time to figure it out. Zexion gathered supplies, failing to realize that Xigbar was standing behind him. Zexion let out a gasp as Xigbar grabbed him from behind and pulled him backwards through the portal.

Vexen had just entered the room and witnessed Zexion struggling as the portal closed. Shaking his head, Vexen spotted the ingredients and supplies on the table, and the antidote sitting on the table. Deciding the completed product was for Xemnas, Vexen turned his attention to the supplies, realizing that Zexion had been trying to make something to counter act what had happened to him and Demyx. Sighing, Vexen decided to work on the cures, as he didn't want to be zapped or disrespected anymore that day.

-x

Demyx had vacated the chair, considered leaving the area, when he spotted Marluxia looking rather pleased. Demyx turned his head, and saw that Xigbar had just come back into the room, bringing with him Zexion. Demyx watched as Xigbar brought Zexion over to the trampoline and tied him against it, cheerfully, as Zexion spouted off threats to the one-eyed man.

Xaldin wasn't paying attention, as he was trying to calm down an irate Larxene. Lexaeus had joined Xaldin in an attempt to help, avoiding stray thunderbolts as he did, and Saix attempting to console a now even more teary-eyed Xemnas.

"I haven't even thanked Kingdom Hearts for this wonderful party! Oh, I am a failure." Xemnas said dramatically, sinking down to the floor to his knees in a fit of regret and sorrow.

Saix thought that Xemnas was being a little over dramatic, and again hoped the Superior would be back to normal soon. Where was Vexen? He was taking too long. Shouldn't he be able to whip up a potion or antidote or something to fix Xemnas?

Xigbar, meanwhile, was testing the ropes to make sure that Zexion wouldn't be able to wriggle free. Satisfied, Xigabr winked at Zexion, "Don't bother trying to use a portal. These ropes are special. They'll prevent you from making a portal."

Zexion tugged against the ropes futiley, fixing a glare on Xigbar with his visible eye, "Untie me now or you'll regret it!" Inwardly, Zexion was already thinking about several horrible things he would do to Xigbar once he was free and able to plot.

Xigbar laughed in response, seemingly unaware of Zexion's thoughts as he turned away and walked away a few paces, "As if! Now, be a good boy and hold still. This shouldn't hurt, much."

Zexion immediately set about trying to free himself, in no mood to be playing games at the moment. Why wasn't anyone stopping Xigbar yet? Most of the organization was still in the Hall of Empty Melodies after all. Someone was going to pay for this.

Marluxia, Demyx and Roxas were nearby, watching the proceeding. Xaldn and Lexaeus were further away, making no progress in trying to calm Larxene, and were trying to keep her from zapping others in the room. Xemnas had moved closer to see what was going on, momentarily distracted from his lamentations. Saix, Axel and Luxord joined him.

Xigbar, realizing that he now had an audience, produced one of his guns, and with a grin, spoke, "Time for some target practice."

Marluxia and Axel both appeared to be amused with this, while Demyx looked horrified and Roxas shook his head at the stupidity of it all. Luxord appeared to be considering taking bets, but almost instantly decided against it, seeing that Zexion was looking very displeased.

Xemnas looked very excited about the whole idea, whereas Saix wore a displeased expression. The Superior was going to have a mess to deal with once he came back to his senses, and Saix didn't want to be in the shoes of any of those who were making fun of Xemnas.

Xigbar angled his gun and took careful aim, firing off a few shots, where they hit to the left of Zexion's head.

Xaldin, seeing what Xigbar was doing, and how fast it could get out of hand, left Lexaeus to deal with Larxene. Glancing around as he walked, Xaldin spotted the alcohol that was sitting on a nearby table. Xaldin moved forward quickly, in time to stop Xigbar from shooting at Zexion again.

"What are you doing, Xaldin?" Xemnas intoned, apparently unhappy that his entertainment had been stopped short.

Xaldin knew that it wasn't the smartest idea in the worlds, but it was the best distraction he could come up with on such short notice, "I thought, since the party was at its height, that we should make a toast."

Xemnas' demeanor went from unhappy to pleasantly happy as he nodded curtly, "Yes, that was just what I was about to suggest, Xaldin." With an air of importance, Xemnas poured himself a glass of wine and held it aloft, "To Kingdom Hearts!"

-x-

Vexen, unaware at the downing of alcohol that was being done on the upper floors, wore a pleased expression. He had finished the antidotes for Demyx and Zexion. Vexen turned and checked on the antidote that was meant for Xemnas. It seemed to be ready. Vexen picked the vial up carefully, and left the lab. He would come back and get the other vials for Demyx and Zexion later, once Xemnas was dealt with. Vexen could only hope that Xemnas hadn't done anything embarrassing since he had left the Hall of Empty Melodies.

-x-

Saix was leaning up against the trampoline next to a now- freed Zexion. Roxas was standing on Saix's other side, watching the scene with a bit of annoyance in his expression. Demyx stood next to Roxas, shaking his head at the scene.

Xemnas, Luxord, Xaldin, Xigbar and Axel had managed to get themselves drunk in a short amount of time. Xemnas, in fact, had even managed to lose most of his clothing, until he wore only boxers with golden hearts on them. The Superior was currently running around, yelling praises to Kingdom Hearts. Or just yelling incoherently.

"Kingdom Heartsss~!" Xemnas exclaimed with a bit of a slur, holding his arms up to said object through the window of the room

Vexen saw all this as he came out of a portal, and stared at what was going on with a look of distaste clearly on his face. The only good thing was that Marluxia and Larxene were gone from the room. Casting a nasty look at the drunken Axel, Vexen strode forward and over to where Xemnas was now on his knees, praising Kingdom Hearts enthusiastically. Vexen wasn't sure how he would get Xemnas to drink the antidote, but felt that with the state of mind he was currently in, that Xemnas wouldn't know the difference between a wineglass and a vial.

"Ah, Vexen. Have you come to join me in praising Kingdom Hearts for this magnificent party?"

Vexen merely nodded, "Yes, Superior. I thought a toast would be in order." Vexen handed the vial over to Xemnas, who looked at it dubiously.

"It does not look like wine."

Vexen was inwardly seething. Why did Xemans choose to be perspective now? "It is a special wine, Superior. I thought it fitting that you should have it for the idea of bringing the party to us all." Vexen heard a drunken Axel titter at his words and fall over.

Luxord helped the process along by lifting a half-empty bottle of wine into the air, "Another toast! To nothingness!" The platinum blond took a long draught, before promptly falling backwards onto Axel and falling asleep.

Xemnas took up the toast enthusiastically, and downed the vial in a few gulps. He blinked, swaying for a moment, before falling down and snoring uproariously.

Saix had come froward, and was staring down at Xemnas, "That was a fast acting antidote. Will he be back to normal when he wakes?"

Vexen nodded, "Yes, he should be. Zexion made it to be fast acting, so the Superior should be back to normal in a few hours, when he shakes off the after affects."

Saix looked down at the snoring Superior and sighed. A least things should go back to normal now. Glancing at Vexen, Saix stooped down and picked up the slumbering Xemnas, "I'll take him to his room."

Roxas glanced over at Vexen, then indicated the other drunk nobodies, "Should we leave them here?"

Vexen had already started to walk away, in the direction that Saix had gone, "Just leave them there. It doesn't matter to me. The Superior will probably want to be able to find them."

Roxas turned his attention to the now sleeping Axel and shook his head. Axel wasn't going to be happy when he woke up. Roxas doubted that Xemnas would be very happy about the fact that Axel was the one that had given him the vial that made him act weird in the first place.

-x-

Xemnas woke abruptly, sitting up, a hand to his head. He had a horrible headache, almost like a hangover. He didn't recall drinking anything alcoholic though. Giving his head a little shake, Xemnas noticed that one, he was in his own bed, in his own bedroom, and two, that Vexen was standing next to his bed, eyeing him nervously. Xemnas closed his eyes, in an attempt to gather his thoughts. For some reason, the only things he really could remember was Axel giving him a vial, talking to Vexen, and something involving fighting a Heartless. There was more after that, Xemnas was sure, but he couldn't remember. Next thing he knew he was in his room. Sighing, Xemnas questioned the other man, "Number four...what happened?"

Silence. Vexen appeared to not know what to say in response.

Xemnas opened his eyes and fixed them onto Vexen's. He would get his answer, one way or another. Xemnas had a feeling that he really didn't want to know what had been going on, but felt compelled to find out anyway.

Vexen quailed under Xemnas' intense stare and found himself explaining things before he could think things through, "Axel took a vial from my laboratory and tricked you into drinking it. It made you feel...happy...and you were wanting me to help you, but I said no...when you heard Saix was injured by a Heartless in the Underworld you went to help and Saix in turn stopped the Heartless from injuring you a lot." Vexen took a breath and continued, "You managed to get the organization to help you throw a party, and by the end you and a few others were drunk and you...you ran around almost naked. It was around that time that I got you another vial of an antidote to counteract the one you had taken." Vexen came to an abrupt halt upon seeing Xemnas' rigid posture on his bed, looking both horrified and furious.

Xemans took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself, and not lash out at Vexen. Oh no. He'd find the one responsible for this (most likely Axel, as Vexen had said) and those who helped Axel humiliate him, it seemed, for the past few days.

Vexen had backed away, unsure of how Xemnas was going to react. He didn't want to be anywhere near the Superior when he flipped out once all of what had happened came into light. Vexen flinched a bit as Xemnas' gaze locked onto him again.

"Vexen."

"Y...Yes?" Vexen answered, looking very uneasy. Xemnas was beginning to look like he was ready to go kill something...or maim, whichever happened first.

Xemnas took some pleasure intimidating someone...nobody...whatever. Xemnas shook his head as he spoke, "Number four, have the whole organization meet in the lounge."

Vexen wore a perplexed expression, "The lounge, Superior?"

Xemnas offered an evil smile, "Yes, the lounge. It's a smaller place...harder to escape from..." Xemnas drifted off as he thought about it, smiling.

Vexen managed a small smile in return, before using a portal and leaving the area as quickly as possible.

* * *

Xemnas is back to normal and he is very much displeased.

And I really apologize about the amount of time between chapters. It makes me feel bad. People have probably noticed that I have a few stories going all at once, and I'll try to update them all as often as I can. With school, though, it won't be often, but I'll try to make longer chapters when I do update.


	36. Verbal Lashing

Yeah, an update. Amazing, right? It took me long enough.

This is the second to last chapter for this story; as after this particular 'arc', I can't think of anything further to write for it. I'll likely go through the whole story to edit it (for consistency), since the earlier chapters more than likely need it. I may make another story like it at some point, if I get the urge. The Organization XIII characters are my favorites from the KH series after all.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Kingdom Hearts series.

Xxx

Xaldin patrolled about beneath the castle in the city that surrounded it, making sure that the Heartless were staying clear. After an hour, Xaldin was satisfied that the Heartless had vacated the area, even if for only a while. They'd be back. They always came back, the persistent bastards. Xaldin was about to use a portal to head back to the castle, when something grabbed him from behind. "What the…?" Xaldin cast a glance over his shoulder, and saw, to his annoyance, that one of the plants that had been taken from the castle had wrapped a vine about one of his legs. Xaldin tried to shake it off, but the movement only resulted in another vine gripping his other leg and the first vine tightening its grasp.

Xaldin grunted in surprise as he was abruptly pulled to the ground. He saw another plant out of the corner of his eye, poking at his sideburns tentatively with it fuzzy feelers. Other discarded plants seem to be coming from every side, apparently having hid from the Heartless, despite the fact that they had no hearts to attract the Heartless in the first place. Xaldin's only thought was why the plants were still around, and how a certain Nobody was going to be punished. Xaldin twitched when a plant brushed a leaf against his chest. Silence, then…

"Marluxia!"

Said Nobody flinched in the castle in his room, wondering if he had heard someone yelling his name. Perhaps he had imagined it. He glanced over at Larxene, "Did you hear someone yell?" He was rather confused and at a loss for an explanation for why he felt as though a great deal of animosity was being directed at him by an unseen force.

Larxene was lounging on a nearby chair and shrugged, "I didn't hear anything." Larxene glanced at what Marluxia was kneeling in front of, "What was that thing called again?"

Marluxia was putting his newest plant, which seemed to have some for on it, along with leaves and vines. The plant seemed to be enjoying the petting, "It's a new species. I haven't yet come up with a name for it yet. " Marluxia hugged the plant suddenly, nuzzling it, "Yes, you're going to enjoy meeting Zexion, my beautiful precious plant.

Larxene was somewhat disturbed that the plant had begun to croon in response to the touch. Larxene shook her head, "I think you need to spend some time away from your plants. You might turn into one if you're not careful…" Larxene broke off, trying to imagine what Marluxia would look like as a plant. An image of a potted plant with pink leaves came to mind, and Larxene started to laugh.

Marluxia ignored Larxene and pet the plant a little longer, until Larxene calmed down, "Are you quite finished?"

Larxene struggled to make her face straight, "I think so…" Larxene bit her lip as she stuttered out with a laugh, "Just make sure that Vexen doesn't turn you into plant… Mr. leafman…" Larxene fled from the room, laughing uproariously as she passed by a startled Vexen.

Vexen stood at Marluxia's room entrance and surveyed the scene the Graceful Assassin was in in silence.

"…"

"What do you want?" Marluxia grumbled, not pleased at all with any distractions from his plants.

"Xemnas wants the whole organization to meet in the lounge. Now." And Vexen himself wanted to be out of Marluxia's presence as soon as was possible.

"… No way." Marluxia did not want to be in any enclosed space with his superior. It seemed like a very bad idea.

"What?" Vexen blinked, then frowned.

Marluxia shook his head, "He's going to make us do something crazy again. I'd rather not be a part of that."

"No, he won't."

Marluxia wore a puzzled expression.

Vexen shook his head, exasperated with the man before him, "He's back to normal."

"Oh, I still think I won't go." Especially if Xemnas remembered any of what happened.

"He's going to make it so that no one can get out of the lounge and…"

Marluxia interrupted Vexen and said bluntly, "I'm not going."

Vexen fixed a glare on Marluxia, "If I may finish?" Seeing a noncommittal shrug from Marluxia, Vexen continued, "As I was saying, Xemnas is doing that because he plans to punish some organization members…"

Marluxia looked mildly interested now, "Oh? Who?"

"Axel, and anyone who helped him humiliate our superior."

Marluxia began to smile evilly, "On second thought, I'll go. I will be down shortly."

Vexen rolled his eyes and left the area to locate the rest of the organization members. Vexen didn't hear Marluxia's crazed laugh, heralding a disaster in the lounge in the near future.

MP MP MP

Axel, Roxas, and Demyx headed for the lounge at a slow pace. All of them were nervous about the prospect of a meeting with the recovered and likely pissed off Xemnas. Even though they were supposed to have no hearts, and therefore no emotions, sometimes the Nobodies wondered how anger would occasionally flare up in some organization members.

Roxas was wondering if Xemnas knew what had happened, and was worried if he would be in trouble.

Demyx was nervous about the mission in the underworld, and wasn't thinking that the meeting would be that disastrous.

Axel, on the other hand, seemed fairly cheerful, which Roxas was quick to try to dampen. He wasn't the only one going to worry.

"Axel?"

"Hmm?" Axel titled his head to look down at Roxas.

"Aren't you worried?" Roxas sure was as he wasn't sure what to expect.

"About what?"

Axel couldn't be that oblivious, "This meeting. Xemnas is back to normal after all."

"So…?" Axel still didn't appear to be all that concerned.

"So what if he remembers what happened? You and I will be in trouble!"

Axel appeared to become uncomfortable, but shrugged in response.

Demyx spoke up, "We would get in trouble if we didn't show up though."

"And you'll be in trouble if you're late," Vexen commented, walking along behind them.

"Everybody coming?" Axel asked in a bored voice.

"Yes, and here, I have the antidotes." Vexen replied, sidestepping to avoid receiving a hug from Demyx, who was excited with the prospect that the tail he had would be gone soon.

Vexen waited patiently for Demyx to get back to his feet, before handing him one of the antidotes that he was holding.

Demyx uncorked it and downed it it, closing his eyes as he waited a minute or so, before asking, "Is it gone?"

"Take a look," Roxas responded.

Demyx opened his eyes and glanced backwards, and saw no tail. Demyx grinned and jumped up and down, "Yes! It's gone! No one can grab my butt now!"

"…"

Demyx stop celebrating the dance, and looked at the three other Nobodies. Demyx blushed faintly. "Not like that. It's just that when someone pulled me tail, it hurt my…"

"Demyx. Drop the subject, please." Vexen stated.

Demyx fell silent, looking hurt.

"Be nice Vexen." Axel said in an amused tone of voice.

Vexen turned to respond, and Demyx quickly reached out and clapped Vexen on the shoulder, said, "Thanks," before shooting off to the lounge. Vexen grumbled something about neophytes, shot a sharp glance at Axel and Roxas, before he walked off to the lounge.

"Everyone's acting strange," Roxas commented.

"'Cause Xemnas is back to normal," Axel supplied helpfully.

"The end of the worlds," Roxas deadpanned, which caused Axel to grin. Roxas shook his head and started to walk more quickly, toward the lounge, "Come on, we better not be late."

Axel trailed after Roxas, wondering why he was starting to feel just the tiniest bit of unease.

Xxx

Zexion settled down on a chair in his room and opened his Lexicon, one hand straying to his head to make sure that the animal ears were gone. He could tell perfectly well that the tail was gone, otherwise it would have been uncomfortable to be sitting on the chair without adjusting to accommodate the tail. Zexion idly flipped through the pages, not looking for anything in particular. He was actually thinking about whether or not to do something about Marluxia's dangerous plant that he could potentially sic on some of the organization members, himself included. Zexion shook his head disgustedly, but sighed. What to do…

CRASH

Zexion let his Lexicon vanish and stood quickly from where he had been seated. What had made that sound? Xaldin's dragoon Nobodies hadn't gotten into a fight with Axel's samurai Nobodies _again_, had they? That had been a lot of damage to fix…

Zexion eyed his bedroom door apprehensively. Along with the crashing sound, there were voices, and two familiar scents.

CRASH. BANG.

Axel and Saix…

Zexion backed away from the door abruptly, guessing from the two scents and the sound that Saix was chasing after Axel. It was something he had no desire to get involved in. By now, he could hear the shouts ringing down the hallway outside his room.

"Axel! Where do you think you're going? The Superior wants to see everyone in the lounge. Now!"

"No way! He wants to do something to me, doesn't he? He was laughing! I heard him!"

Zexion frowned a bit, before a satisfied look crossed his face. Good, Axel was going to be punished for slipping the Superior that vial. Now, Zexion could go back to plotting…

BAM!

"Zexion!" Axel exclaimed dramatically, bursting through Zexion's door and into the Cloaked Schemer's bedroom. Axel made it a few feet into the room before being knocked back a step or two by a well-aimed pillow to his head, "Hey! What was that for?"

"Out! Don't you dare drag me into your messes!" Zexion hissed irritably.

Axel was about to reply when Saix entered the room, fuming and unamused. Axel gave the berserker a glance, "Uh-oh." Fidgeting and trying to avoid a beating, Axel suddenly began to smile. "He knew about it!" Axel exclaimed, pointing a finger at Zexion before vanishing via portal.

"Axel!" Zexion twitched as Saix spoke one word menacingly.

"Zexion…"

Zexion turned to the Luna Diviner, silently cursing Axel for causing him more trouble, "Yes, number VII?"

"Is what number VIII said true?" Saix questioned in a flat tone.

"I…had my suspicions," Zexion managed to say, wincing when Saix seized him by the arm and dragged him through a portal to the Superior's office.

Zexion twisted out of Saix's grasp, rubbing his arm, before he nodded to Xemnas, who was seated on a chair and looking displeased.

Xemnas was silent for a time, before speaking in a pleasant tone, "Zexion, where is Axel?"

Startled, Zexion was silent as he sorted through the different scents of the castle and surrounding area, before zeroing in on Axel, "He's…outside in the city…beneath the castle, speaking to Xaldin."

Xemnas and Saix exchanged glances with one another. Saix left through another portal, as Xemnas turned to put his full attention on Zexion, "Why did Saix bring you here?"

Zexion carefully avoided full eye contact, as he noticed the change in Xemnas' voice, "I became aware…of Axel slipping you the vial that caused you to act oddly."

Xemnas was silent.

Zexion definitely didn't want to make eye contact now. He could all but feel Xemnas' eyes boring in to him, "As Vexen was the one to make what was contained in the vial, he had to come up with the remedy. I went on a mission, as Saix had instructed, and learned of the vial soon after returning."

Xemnas appeared to be thinking, and then spoke again, "Did you help me do whatever I did before I had the remedy?"

"A few things, but not as much as Axel…he seemed to rather enjoy it." Zexion, of course, would attempt to shoulder the blame on the red head if he could manage it.

Xemnas wore a thoughtful look, knowing full well that Zexion was more than likely lying and keeping some things to himself. However, he would agree that Axel would amuse himself with pretty much anything he could possibly latch onto. In any case, Saix would bring Axel back shortly. Xemnas tapped his fingers against the chair, and allowed himself a smile.

Then the fun could begin.

Zexion held perfectly still, hoping to be ignored, as he did not like the look on Xemnas' face.

Xxx

"Heya Xaldin. Looking for anything in particular in our wonderful city of nothingness?"

Xaldin pointedly ignored the sarcasm and cast an eye over Axel, and saw the other's ruffled appearance. Xaldin then knew that the other was running from something. "Avoiding someone, Axel? Didn't the Superior want everyone in the lounge?"

Axel evaded the question, "Any lingering Heartless…or plants?" He grinned evilly at Xadlin's twitch, and the clenching of a hand around a lance. Axel spotted a few still forms on the ground, impaled by the other lances Xaldin had, with a few dragoon nobodies poking at the remains of the other plants. "You're doing a good job, man. Destroying possessed botany. I bet Marluxia won't be too happy with you 'killing' them." Axel's face turned a peculiar color as a hand dropped down on his shoulder and held it in a crushing grip.

Saix ignored Axel wriggling and trying to free himself, and nodded to Xaldin, "When you're finished, come to the lounge. We'll be starting soon once everyone is there."

Xaldin hid a smile at Axel's discomfort, "I'll be there shortly." He watched Saix and a glum Axel vanish, before giving a vine creeping up his leg a final stab.

Xxx

In the lounge, most of the organization was waiting in a bored silence, a few of them starting to plot ideas of their own to relieve their boredom.

Roxas was lying on a couch, dozing, as Demyx, in a nearby chair, played his sitar softly. Luxord and Xigbar were in a corner, discussing throwing a poker party somewhere in the city out of Xemnas' sight. Or doing some other activity that Xemnas would disapprove of, as that would make it worthwhile to do. Lexaeus was staring out the window at Kingdom Hearts, wondering what Xemnas was planning on doing. Nothing quiet, that was for sure. Lexaeus could have sworn he saw a glint in Xemnas' eyes that didn't bode well for whomever the ire was directed at. Vexen was eying everyone in the room with disdain, and anyone looking at him could tell he wanted nothing more than to vacate their presence as soon as was possible.

Xigbar, having cemented his plans with Luxord, wandered over to Roxas and Demyx, giving a wide berth to Marluxia and Larxene. Xigbar poked Roxas' knees until the teenager woke up. The sniper grinned at the look thrown his way, "Morning tiger. Where's Axel? I thought for sure he'd try and use you as a barrier between himself and Xemnas."

Roxas shrugged and turned over to avoid looking at a grinning Xigbar, "Dunno. We were heading here with Demyx, when Saix showed up and started to chase Axel."

Xigbar enjoyed the mental image for a moment, and was about to ask something else when Xemnas, Saix and a bored-looking Axel suddenly appeared in the room. The low-key atmosphere abruptly turned to tense, as Xemnas stared to speak. Or, rather, scold.

Zexion, as well as several other members of the organization, thoroughly enjoyed watching Xemnas yell himself hoarse at Axel. Zexion was being careful not to smile, as he knew that sooner or later Xemnas would catch his lie, as well as realize that some of the other things that had happened to other organization members had been his doing, and not Axel's. All in all, Xemnas wearing out his voice had a positive side-effect. He'd have to keep his monotone speeches short for several days, if not a week, as he recovered the use of his voice.

Marluxia was pleased with the sight of Axel being chewed out by Xemnas. Marluxia cast a careful glance in Zexion's direction, checking to see whether or not the Cloaked Schemer was looking at him. He wasn't. Marluxia allowed himself an evil smirk. When Xemnas was done scolding and punishing Axel, as well as a few others, perhaps, he would be free to unleash his darling new plant on Zexion and Axel.

Across the room, Lexaeus was a bit concerned at the look on the Graceful Assassin's face. It looked as if the man were planning something. Lexaeus' concerns were interrupted when a disheveled and furious Xaldin entered the lounge and took a seat next to him, glowering darkly at Marluxia.

"Are you…all right, Xaldin?" Lexaeus queried, surprised that such a hateful look was being thrown number XI's way.

Xaldin grit his teeth, before taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself. Then, in a forced voice, replied, "Remember the plants Xemnas had us take out of the castle?"

"Yes…" Lexaeus responded, hoping Xaldin would remain semi-calm.

"I ran into them while running a patrol in the city below the castle. I was checking up on the Heartless situation there, when I was distracted…" Xaldin had a look of disgust on his face now, "A few of those plants seemed intent on keeping me there and…" Xaldin broke off, shuddering at the memory, "I dispatched them, with the assistance of a few of my dragoons."

"It isn't Marluxia's fault that the plants…converged on you, is it?" Lexaeus asked as delicately as he could.

Xaldin seemed to have not heard him, as he was currently glaring daggers at Marluxia and had the Graceful Assassin seen the expression, he would have been gone from the lounge, more than likely being pursued by six lances.

Xemnas didn't notice any of this, as he was finishing yelling at Axel, who didn't appear all that concerned. In fact, only the level of Xemnas' voice appeared to have actually bothered Axel at all.

Marluxia cast a glance at the lounge doors, and smiled in anticipation.

Soon...

x-x-x

I apologize if there are any typos. The next chapter will be up as soon as I'm satisfied with how it is written, which could be anywhere from two weeks to two months. Thanks for not asking too much about updates. As I hate waiting for a new chapter to a story, I feel bad about how long it takes me to update my own stories.


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